These Hallowed Hexley Halls
by Professor Muscovite
Summary: AU. Sofia is a new student at Hexley Hall, entering via scholarship in Year 11. She has a wealth of potential, but has issues controlling her magic, and thus takes private tutoring from an upperclassman, Cedric, Year 13. Together with Cedric's roommate Greylock, they have various school adventures and magical hijinks. [Crossover with -everything-.]
1. Dancing Though Life

The assembly hall in Hexley Halls was living up to both names - that is, it was a hall in which people were assembled, and it had several hexes floating about at the moment - and it was absolutely ghastly. Not just thematically, either. Too many candles flickered, ghosts swooped through the air, and near the edges of the room one could hear definite moaning. And that was only the decoration.

 _Mostly_ the decoration. Cedric cast a sidelong glance to a pair of fellow students near the wall, who had shoved their masquerade masks to one side in order to snog.

With a roll of his eyes, Cedric moved past them to the punch table. After he'd moistened his parched throat - not without trouble, given his raven mask made his already noticeable nose even longer, and thus harder to deal with wide-brimmed cups - he wondered, _where had Greylock gone, anyway?_ The blasted boy had dragged Cedric to the party. ...It, truthfully, hadn't taken much convincing since it _had_ been Greylock, but that made it all the worse that Cedric could no longer find the other young man.

"I should have _guessed_ this would happen," he muttered to himself. "Greylock, as many friends as he's got… Of _course_ he'd leave. Well, I won't let him. Not another party, school sanctioned or not. I-" Cedric stopped, and snickered to himself. "Quoth the raven, 'nevermore'."

Mostly, Cedric had been directing his rambling towards his cup of punch, so he startled when he heard a bright voice say, "'Prophet,' said I, 'thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil.'" Only luck saved her dress from the juice that sloshed out of his cup.

Cedric blinked at the girl in front of him. She was shortish, plump, with wavy brown hair and in a purple princess costume. All of the costumes tended to be fairly elaborate around here, given all of the students were by design magic-users, but the glowing magic crown with a large purple jewel in the center, at the top of her half-mask - northern hemisphere, not east or west... _whatever_ the longitude halves were called - made it clear she was supposed to be specifically royalty, rather than just in some kind of ball gown.

"Sorry, I, ah… don't know the poem all that well." He did, though. Memorization was one of the few things he could do well, regarding the arts. What he _didn't_ do well was discuss things, especially not poems.

The 'princess' shrugged. "That's fine. You seemed like you could use some cheering up, and when I heard the line, I just thought I'd try to continue on from there. Is the punch really as bad as all that 'nevermore'?"

Despite himself, Cedric laughed. "No, none of that. I just prefer to talk at something, if I feel I _must_ monologue to no one. Prefer to look pathetic than unstable." The sincere smile from a moment before quickly faded into something that looked much the same, and yet did a very poor job of hiding how little the statement was 'just a joke'. "'Nevermore' was about all of... _this._ " He gestured widely. "I _do_ thank you for noticing, miss, but I was just thinking about leaving, actually."

The purple girl nodded. "Before you do," said with a small smile, "would you mind dancing with me?"

"Dance?" Cedric looked over the masked heads of the crowd, and saw there was a cleared area. "I suppose that makes sense," he said to himself.

As Cedric decided, he looked mostly at the girl with occasional glances to the dance floor. Her smile broadened as he took his time.

"I'm rubbish at dancing," he finally said.

She laughed lightly, and said, "That's okay!"

"I might step on your feet. In fact, I'd take that down as a very definite probability."

"I'm pretty bad myself to be honest! I only - um…" She mumbled something about not giving away identities for the masquerade.

Indicating the snogging couple by the wall with his thumb, Cedric said, "I don't believe anyone's enforcing that. Or much of anything else. How has this punch not been spiked yet?" He blinked, then squinted at his cup. "On second thought, maybe _don't_ try the punch." He set his own glass down on the table.

Miss Princess shook her head. "It's the spirit of the thing. So, no possibly-obvious details. But for _reasons_ , I also can't dance. Want to try anyway?"

She was grinning again, and… Cedric thought there was something familiar about the grin, actually. _What an odd thing to find familiar._

At any rate, it had eaten through his defenses. "All right," he said, "That _does_ sound amusing." Also a little nerve-wracking, in case he mucked things up _too_ badly. With the masquerade, he probably wouldn't be found out if he stepped on the feet of one of the well-liked or rich students. Admittedly, the venn diagram of these two groups was nearly a circle, so it didn't matter which it was.

They could just pull off his mask though. Others clearly didn't show the reticence this girl did about sharing identities. By the time Cedric was having these second thoughts, though, he'd already been led to the dance floor. He looked down to see his hand held in hers, and took it back as if he'd unexpectedly seen a particularly nasty bug.

"No?" she asked, gesturing vaguely with the hand she'd been holding his with.

Shaking his head, Cedric said, "Not without _warning_. I'm honestly surprised that didn't bring me out of that little reverie I was having."

To the upbeat songs, they… danced, after a fashion. The most Cedric could muster was sort of wiggling his body to the beat, though he felt incredibly awkward. At least no one would recognize him at a glance.

The girl was much less reserved with her movements-her arms contorted into strange positions, she moved intentionally stiffly at times, altogether very…Common. Not that it was in good company in the room, but didn't feel like she'd grown up in Hexley Halls' primary school, or Royal Prep for that matter. Not that _anyone_ here had come from Royal Prep, that Cedric knew of.

"It's nice to let loose, not worry about what people will think," she said to Cedric, and he startled.

"I, er… yes, definitely!" Had his face been so obvious that he was judging her, or were they simply on the same plane? Or was he reading too much into this? ...Subject change was probably a good idea. "The song just now, it's amusing, isn't it?"

The girl blinked and slowed her dancing as she listened. "Pffft," she said after a few moments, "I see what you mean. Hear? But yeah, they're supposed to hate each other, but it sounds like they're _in lo~ove._ " She bit her lip then continued, "Which sounds rather like _someone_ I know, really, but that definitely doesn't mean anything to you." Cedric couldn't fathom who or what she was implying.

Not long after that, Cedric was too tired both mentally and physically to be at the party any longer. "It's not just the dancing," he explained, "I'm just generally feeling rather _green_. The sound's part of it. And the crowd, even if I'm not actually _interacting_ with them. Thank you for the good time, miss, but I _really_ must go."

Despite these words, he hesitated on the _actually leaving_ part. They looked at each other for several seconds, while Cedric tried to decide if he wanted to know this girl's name and who she really was, or not. On the one hand, while it was draining, that actually _was_ fun. Not to mention distracting, he'd forgotten until now that when she found him he'd been moping about Greylock.

On the other hand, that still _was_ incredibly draining. Could he even handle someone like that? Well, she had at least asked him, and waited for an affirmative answer before she dragged him anywhere.

...Of course, there's whether _she_ would want to know who _he_ was, too. Before and after. How would she feel that she'd spent a decent part of the evening with not a noble's spare child, but a royal sorcerer's line? True, he was destined for the castle, but one of the wings, not the throne.

Before he could decide, she asked him, "Can I hug you?"

"I believe you mean, ' _may_ I hug you,'" he said with a lopsided grin.

The false princess's head slid into a tilt, in a way that Cedric thought implied she was rolling her eyes. "We're not in school, Ce - sss...sooo don't lecture me." Cedric, having heard and not read this, could not tell for sure that the first stuttered syllable was a soft 'c' rather than an 's'. Given this fact, it's rather reasonable that he did not cotton on to the fact that his identity had been sussed out. He did wonder at the stuttering, but that's as far as he got.

At any rate, he slowly nodded. "But be quick, I don't like it much." He lifted his arms, and the girl wrapped her arms around his chest and pressed herself into him, briefly, then stood back.

"Bye, and good night!" she said as she backed away, waving. He waved back at her, and then she was gone into the crowd.

Lucky thing that the hug had decided him against asking for her identity. He never got the chance.

* * *

The bedroom that Cedric shared would have been large enough-luxurious, even-had it been single-occupant and single-use. As things stood, however, Cedric felt somewhat cramped. His bed was pushed against one wall, his roommate's on the other side of the room, mirror to his. They each had a chest of drawers and a closet for clothes, and a desk against the outer wall, a window situated just in the middle of the two-not terribly useful as a light source, given, but it was better than fighting over who got to use the sunny desk. Not to mention, moving the furniture would probably land them in trouble, anyhow.

Cedric sat on his bed, still in the black feathered robe he wore to the masquerade but sans the mask, with a glowing ball of light floating next to him, allowing him to read in the otherwise dark room. His Familiar, Wormwood, snoozed on a perch between the desks. It wasn't supposed to be there, either-each half to each student, but there wasn't much else to do with the space (aside from slide the desks closer together, Cedric supposed), so no one paid much mind.

Quite suddenly, the door banged against the wall from the force with which it was flung open. "Hattrick!" called Greylock as he came in-incongruously slow for such an entrance, though perhaps it made sense with the boy's altogether much too extravagant peacock outfit. "What happened to you, out there?"

Greylock then paused, finally noticing how much he'd startled his roommate when he entered. The ball of light had winked out, though it left some glowy residue on the bedcovers beside Cedric, not to mention on his shoulder, face, and hair. Cedric's eyes were squinting at him above a frown, but he still clutched at his heart with one hand. A book lay at both their feet, open with cover facing up.

Cedric's eyes followed Greylock's, and noticed the book as well. "You've made me lose my spot, you lout. And it's still Cedric." He bent to pick it up, and noticed that several pages had been creased, as well. He pointedly glared at Greylock as he smoothed them out, and closed the book.

As Cedric did that, Greylock continued, "But you didn't answer my question! Where did you go? One moment, you were right there, the mysterious night to my glorious day, and then I look back-and you're gone! Like a raven into the night, I suppose."

With a grimace, Cedric replied, "As I _recall_ , Greylock, it was _you_ who left _me_. You were talking to someone, and wandered off without bothering to tell me."

This news deflated Greylock entirely, aside from the peacock tail. He pulled out Cedric's desk chair and sank into it, scrunching the feathers in the process. At least they fit his mood, now.

"Legolas' Lace. I'm sorry, Cedric. I didn't mean-"

"Stow it," Cedric interrupted. "I wasn't having much fun _with_ you, anyhow. Parties just aren't something I much care for. Though I _did_ have a decent time. Some girl and I danced badly. It was...surprisingly fun."

Greylock blinked, then grinned. "Good job! This is exactly the sort of thing I was _hoping_ for! See? You can talk to more than just me and Sofia! Who was she?"

With a shrug, Cedric said, "I don't know. I left early - as you can tell, given that I'm here - and she didn't tell me when I left."

This, somehow, just made Greylock grin wider. "Oh, so we've got a _mysterious admirer_ on our hands, have we?" He put a hand on Cedric's shoulder, and Cedric didn't shrug it off.

He did, however, roll his eyes. "I doubt that. She was just killing time with a random stranger that she...probably felt _sorry_ for." Cedric grimaced and looked down. He didn't like having to admit that, but what else could put Greylock off the scent of intrigue?

"I see. So I get to keep you _all_ for myself then? Oh, how horrible." Greylock grinned at this, and shook Cedric's shoulder to catch his attention again. Cedric looked up to see the grin, and raised an eyebrow but found his mouth pulling to one side in a return smile. "All right, though," Greylock continued, "I shan't drag you to to any more functions like that. But _look_ at you, though! Such a dashing figure you cut, harbinger of _darkness_ …and stray feathers." Greylock picked up one such feather from the bedside.

Cedric snatched the feather from Greylock and tried to dispell it away...and found he couldn't. "I think this is actually one of Wormy's," he said. "No poof." To illustrate, he snapped his fingers and the robe he wore transformed from black and covered with shiny feathers to his usual casual dressing gown-a deep plum color.

Greylock choked on a laugh. "You wore _that_ in public?"

Crossing his arms, Cedric said, "Yes, it's comfortable. And it was _charmed_ into a costume, so I don't see the issue."

Greylock didn't give an actual answer, just a smile and a shrug. Then, after a moment, "So, what was the mystery girl like, anyway?"

Cedric sighed and rolled his eyes. "I thought you'd come off it. Fine! _Fine._ She was dressed as a princess, very...purple."

Scoffing, Greylock said, "You say that like it's a _bad_ thing."

" _I_ wear muted tones, tasteful. She wasn't eye bleedingly bright, but… Happy. Happy colors. Makes me think of spring holidays. The big jewel she put in her crown was rather impressive, actually, it didn't look conjured at all."

Greylock nodded, but pressed, "All right, all right. But what was _she_ like? Maybe we can figure it out, mm? Oh, don't give me that look, old boy. I don't mean to set you up on a _date_ or anything - though that could also be quite fun."

"Nope," said Cedric with what he hoped was a tone of finality. "Don't even _think_ about it. I do _not_ want to date, even if-" Cedric hesitated, and glanced briefly with knitted brows at Greylock's face, then barreled quickly through his admission to the next subject, "...anyone would have me. You _see_ , I am far too busy this year, what with my independent studies, my thesis, the upcoming NEWTs. I do not _need_ that kind of distraction. ..Not to mention, I'm not sure I'd trust whomever _you_ picked out for me."

"I'm not, I'm not! Though, for the record, _if_ you and this girl were to start anything, you could hardly blame _me_ for picking her out. She picked you out for herself. Whoever she is. We need more _details_ before we can figure that out, though!"

Cedric huffed, but answered, "She was shorter than me. Probably barely five feet, if even that. Brown hair, shoulder length. Not straight. The hair, I mean, it wasn't straight, but it wasn't strictly _curly_ either."

Greylock's eyebrow rose near the end of that description. "Well, that's even better luck than I'd hoped. I won't just have to 'keep an eye out,' for a slow burn to this mystery. We already _know_ her."

Cedric startled. "We do?"

"Brain-thick. Doesn't that sound strikingly like a certain student you tutor? And by certain, don't I mean _the only one_?"

A blink, and then Cedric's hand rose to smack himself in the face. Of _course_ it was Sofia. "Well. I suppose the session on Monday will be...awkward, if that's really…"

"Now _you_ come off it. All joking aside, Either she didn't realize it was you, which is very possible, or she did and was being _friendly_. Friends do that sometimes. I know you don't care much for them, but there are some people who enjoy spending time together outside of class, or being forcibly assigned to live with each other."

Cedric grimaced at Greylock's attempt at reassurance. He wasn't quite sure why that all was as unsettling as the previous option. "Well. All right. Though I do want it known that usually, my roommates are less _nosey_." Still, he said this with a smile.


	2. The Wizard's Apprentice

The study room Cedric was assigned to was rather chilly this time of year, even with the windows closed and the fireplace going. _Damn draughty towers._ Cedric scooted his chair a little closer to the fire, trying not to catch Greylock's attention as he did - but Greylock looked up from his work to raise an eyebrow at Cedric anyway. Cedric grimaced and made a dismissive hand-waving motion.

At that moment, Sofia arrived, having sensibly worn her wool coat over the school uniform. "Afternoon, Mister Ceedric. Mister Greylock."

"There's no one around, no need for honorifics, Sofia!" Greylock said, without looking up from his work this time.

"Well, _I_ do prefer their use. Though I'd rather you dropped them than continually get my name wrong. Miss _Soap-phia_."

Sofia giggled and sat down across from Cedric at the table. "All right, all right. No 'p' in my name, only one 'e' in yours. Should we get to business?"

Cedric nodded curtly, still grimacing slightly. "Any particular issues you've had since last week, or should we work more on general control?"

"Hm." Sofia bit her lip. "It wasn't something discussed in class, exactly. But it was assumed that everyone would have their familiar, and have had it for nearly a year now… Could we work on that?"

At that, Cedric's expression softened. "No problem at all. The first time you summon your familiar, you'll be doing a bit of work. Not nearly so much later. First, get the chalk, if you would, while I find the appropriate Octagram. Or is this one a Pentagram?" Cedric shrugged and went to the books on the wall shelves, until he found what he wanted and started flipping through it.

Sofia had the chalk long before he found it. He flipped back, and forth, and eventually realized there was a table of contents-but managed to look in the wrong chapter first.

"Here we go! You're going to need to draw this on the ground...here…" Cedric looked down to the cobblestone under their feet. "On second thought, the table's big enough. Greylock, get your smelly feet off the table, we need it. Also your papers. _Must_ you study in here, anyway?"

Greylock nodded grimly. "Absolutely. I have been put under a curse by an evil sorceress, which allows me to only ever study here. In this exact location. On the night of a full moon." Sofia giggled.

"It's midday, you lout. You don't have to leave, but we _do_ need the table, so you'd have to find one elsewhere."

Greylock shut his book with a clap, and quickly gathered the papers he'd scattered about, tucking them into the cover of the book and stowing the bundle in his bag. However, rather than leaving, he picked his chair up and moved it next to the fireplace. "Well. I'm not about to miss seeing what Sofia's Familiar is. And if I'm here without even a table to rest my feet on - or study at, I _suppose_ \- then I might as well be warm." He grinned and gestured for Cedric to carry on.

Together, Sofia and Cedric drew the complicated diagram on the table. "It doesn't need to be geometrically _perfect_ ," Cedric said at one point, "but it _does_ need to be at least rather close. Thus, we need tools." He presented a metre stick and string. "We ought to mark important points, and later connect the dots, rather than draw willy-nilly. _Especially_ not for something as important as your Familiar. I _am_ sorry, by the way, that this isn't some sort of special ceremony. Tenth year, just before Wassalia hols, there's this-"

But Cedric was cut off by Greylock snorting. "Kendrick, did you just use a slang term?" Greylock stood up and walked over to Cedric and clapped him on the back. "We haven't much time, but I think we'll make a lad of you yet!"

Cedric squinted briefly at Greylock, wondering which of three possible ways that comment was meant, but eventually rolled his eyes. "Just before Wassalia _holidays_ ," he revised, "there's this sort of rite of passage. Lots of candles, very spooky, I suppose it's important to some people."

Sofia smiled warmly. "Nah, I'm good here. It feels more special to me if it's just...a few friends, and doing this especially for me, than some community thing."

 _Ohhh, Merlin's Mushroom._ Cedric glanced at Greylock to see his expression, but the expected raised eyebrow was nowhere to be found. _So was it just me who thought that sounded a little too..._ romantic _for comfort? Yes? All right, then._

"And Greylock? If you're going to be over here, you could at least _help_ with all this." The younger boy shrugged and nodded.

Eventually, the circle was done, and Sofia read the verbal components of the spell, doing her best to correctly perform the somatic components she'd only just learned from Cedric. And… it worked! Sofia jumped for joy and hugged Cedric, before quickly backing off and muttering, "Sorry!" At the same time, a grey and brown rabbit jumped from within the center of the octagram, where previously there had only been a dried four-leaf clover. Greylock gave her a hug instead, offering his congratulations.

Cedric cleared his throat and tried to look serious, but couldn't help a small smile, either. "You can dismiss it now, by simply saying 'Familiarus Gonicus.' To summon, it's Familiarus Comhericus.'" A small poof of smoke appeared by Cedric's side, and let out a slow caw.

Sofia giggled at that, then took the rabbit into her arms and sat down. "Hmm, what should I name… Him, apparently? ...Yes, I rather like Clover." She looked entirely too attentive to the animal, like he was involved in the decision process. Cedric rolled his eyes and took the last remaining seat. _Girls, animals, and creative names._ Oh well. It's not like Greylock's was much better, he supposed.

"Cedric, did you go to the Halloween Masquerade last weekend?" Sofia asked rather suddenly. "I mean, I know it's not really your _thing_ , but I'd be willing to bet Greylock could have gotten you to go, if he wanted." She grinned at Greylock, who grinned back.

With a sigh, Cedric answered, "Yes, I did. Why." Wormwood landed on his shoulder and started to preen.

"Well," Sofia said, "if it were a regular costume party, I'd ask what you went as. But since the point of a masquerade is not to be known, I can't actually do that!"

Squinting his eyes, Cedric voiced what he was sensing, "Buuut…?"

" _But_ I think it was a fantastic time over all, and hope you found someone to have a good time with. Perhaps a radiantly shining partner to complement your dark mystique?" She blinked wide eyes innocently, grinning and petting her Familiar.

Cedric tried to squint harder, but all that accomplished was blurring his vision with his eyelashes. Instead, he pouted and stared - still squinting, of course. He preferred darker colors in general, it was true, but it seemed telling that she mentioned this directly after Wormwood appeared.

"I did, in fact. After Grey-" Cedric stopped suddenly as he had a realization. _Hm. She assumed right off the bat that Greylock had brought me along. And yet…_ "After a _certain someone_ showed me their tail feathers, I was approached by a _royally_ enchanting young woman. Glowing, even, especially her crown. I could almost see myself wearing something like it, even if it was a bit gaudy." Greylock badly stifled a laugh.

"Oh wonderful!" Sofia clapped her hands together, bright eyed and bushy tailed…figuratively. That was an important distinction at Hexley Halls. Though Clover had the literal sense covered. "I _also_ spent time with someone intriguing. Tall, dark and handsome. Ah, but then, he ran away, migrating south for the winter."

"Did this mysterious gentleman leave any clue who he was? A shoe, perhaps?"

"No, but his bangs _did_ start peeking out from behind his mask after dancing some."

Oh. Neptune's Nipples. Cedric looked over to where Greylock, no longer able to hold back, was doubled over laughing.

Sofia was also smiling, but managed to hold in the laughter. "I never actually decided if I hoped you had or hadn't figured it out. I'm glad you decided to play along, though, that was fun. Thanks."

She seemed to think she was being genuinely nice, rather than laughing at his expense. ...Though it _was_ fun. However - "All right, _she's_ explained, but what have _you_ got to say for yourself, Greylock?"

" _I don't know,_ " Greylock said as emphatically as he could through his laughter. "I - I just - the way she said that, the just the sudden _gotcha,_ the jump from, from costume references to 'this was clearly you'. It, it-" And Greylock was too deep into another fit of laughter to continue.

Cedric rolled his eyes and smiled. Youngsters. Yes, he was two _whole_ years Sofia's elder, and only one for Greylock's. Still. "Well, Sofia, we should probably…" Cedric glanced at the wall clock. "...Clean up, if we don't want to miss supper. That took rather longer than I expected. In fact - cleaning manually builds character, but I'd like to have _something_ to eat at least." Cedric took out his wand, made a gesture, and hummed a tune. A broom that was in the corner sprouted arms, and walked over to Cedric using its bent bristles as makeshift feet. "Tidy up this room, if you please." The broom saluted and got to work.

The trio left, though Greylock gave a last look into the room and said, "I see _absolutely_ no way this could go horribly wrong."


	3. Little Ways to Flirt and Flounce

Greylock and Cedric arrived at the Goodwyn House refectory together, having split from Sofia who went to dine in her own House. As it turned out, they had plenty of time, several minutes at least, and needn't have wasted that breath on hurrying. Greylock shrugged an 'oh well,' but Cedric's lungs burned like alchemist's fire. _Damned stairs, must be their fault._

They quickly gathered some food parcels onto their plate from the serving dishes floating at the side of the room. At the end of the line, Greylock tapped his wand to the Fork In The Stone that subtracted a meal from his plan. Cedric glanced about, noticed that none of the professors, prefects, or other staff seemed to be paying attention, and pantomimed tapping the thing without actually doing so.

They then each went to sit at their tables - long wooden things seating about ten students each, with a large number inlaid into the center denoting which year they served. Despite being relatively late, Cedric and Greylock managed to take seats positioned as close together as the gap between the tables would allow - given there weren't nearly enough students in Goodwyn House to fill the tables.

"Don't you have _any_ other friends?" Cedric grumbled at Greylock behind him, but made no attempt to move seats. He just kicked his book bag under his chair - he and Greylock were the only ones to have them with, currently, as most students had time to stop by their rooms before meal. And anyhow, Cedric knew his 'accusation' to be true - when Greylock turned back around to face his own table, he was met with plenty of conversation. ...A notable portion of which was wondering why Greylock would intentionally spend time with Cedric. The usual complaints of being cheap for as rich as his father is, awfully awful at doing magic, crabby. Whatever.

...Did they just call him-'disgusticified'? _How many mental acrobatics do you have to go through to think that's a word?_ Cedric was more offended at the cold blooded murder of the English tongue than anything else.

Cedric turned his attention back to his own table, which was just as chatty, but they at least were graceful enough to wait until later for any bad-mouthing they might do regarding Cedric. They also made no overtures of trying to bring him into any conversations, or start new ones. It's not like he would have reciprocated anyway, but he could still blame them for it.

And then, giggling that sounded distinctly like Greylock's came from behind him. Cedric decided to look over his shoulder, to see Greylock looking back at him, holding up a small piece of ripped, folded paper with a purple heart hand-drawn on the front. Cedric rolled his eyes and got back to his meal.

A minute later, there was a small poof of lilac dust in the air above Cedric's plate, and he only barely managed to save the note that fluttered out of the magic cloud from landing in his bowl of stew.

 _Cedric! Look what I just managed to do! :D_

 _~~Sofia_

It seemed Sofia couldn't resist adding in a smile, even when she wasn't physically present. Cedric rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smiling in return. However, after a moment, he noticed the other students at the table seemed to have noticed _him_ , for once. Before they saw the heart on the front of his own note, he did the first thing he could think of: stuck it in his stew.

The ink of whatever purple fountain pen Sofia had managed to find was, apparently, quite vivid. His stew was distinctly cooler in color than his neighbor's bowl, though it ended up being more of a huckleberry than a violet.

Still, he should send something back… On the other hand, she'd sent something to Greylock before she did to himself, which made sense - the two actually shared classes, had similar dispositions. Whatever it was she'd said to Greylock had gotten quite a reaction. On the other hand, all she'd chosen to say to Cedric was just regarding the inherent magic. So, he decided to just eat.

A few minutes later, he felt Greylock poke him in the back. At first, he ignored it, but Greylock seemed to insist on persisting. The spot was quite sore by the time Cedric turned around and asked, " _What_ is it, Greylock?"

"Did you get a note like mine here from Sofia? She tells me she sent one to you, but she thinks it got lost somewhere in transit. Let's hope it didn't say anything _embarrassing_ , hmmm?" Cedric knew exactly what the note said, and that no one else saw what it said, but found himself blushing anyway.

Eventually, Cedric managed, "Well, I. She didn't ask a _question_. I didn't realized she wanted any kind of response." What a bold strategy, telling the truth and making it sound somewhat plausible. Well. Bending the truth, but _still._

A moment of silence passed between them, broken by Greylock asking, " _Well_? Aren't you going to _tell_ her?"

Cedric sighed and pouted as he turned to face his own table again. He also conjured a small piece of paper and a fountain pen, blotted it on a piece of bread he wasn't so fond of after all, and wrote a return message to Sofia.

 _I didn't realize you required response. I received your letter fine._

 _-Cedric S._

In a puff of bright green smoke, it was gone.

After the message was sent, Greylock started, "So, what did-" and stopped himself short. "Cedric, did you conjure a pen for this?"

"Yes. Why?"

"We have our sacks with us. Including paper and pencils. And - Cedric, I can't believe you conjured one of _my_ pens!" He gasped and put a hand to his mouth, though was clearly grinning.

Cedric looked at the pen he held in his hand. "Yours? How can you tell."

"Well, the inscription might be a clue. 'Greylock 15.' Either that's a very bad misspelling of 'Cedric,' or you took one of my pens."

Cedric looked at the pen and rotated it, to see the inscription. Huh. There it was.

"...So, Pinprick, how do you like my _pen fifteen_?" Greylock was grinning entirely too wide, and put too much emphasis on that for comfort.

Blinking, Cedric asked, "What?"

"My pen fifteen. Is it _large_ enough? How does it feel in your hand? Is the weight decent? -Oh, I see it seems to have made a mess of your bread, getting it all sticky…" Greylock stopped with the thickly… _sensual, almost?_... tone to say plainly, "That really wasn't necessary, was it? Blotting that much? And wasting good bread, I'd have eaten it." He huffed, then returned to his earlier tone of voice, "So do you _like_ it, then? My pen fifteen? Do you _want_ my pen fifteen?"

"Um…" Cedric looked at the pen in his fingers. "Yes? I would like to borrow your… Why is it labeled as 'fifteen' anyway?"

Still grinning, but back to his usual joking tone of voice, Greylock answered, "To differentiate it from Pens One through Fourteen, obviously."

"All right… _why_ are your pens numbered?"

"To know which one specifically is taken if they're stolen, of course."

Cedric rolled his eyes. "Well, all right. _Dear_ Greylock, may I borrow your Pen Fifteen for responding to Sofia."

Greylock laughed, waggled his eyebrows and gave a thumbs up, and turned back around to his table. Cedric huffed and turned back around as well, to eat and await the next message.

Sofia started asking questions for Cedric to answer in her notes.

Poof. _What are you eating?_ Cedric sighed and wrote back a response that answered her question (thin beef stew, egg sandwich, bread, vegetables) without giving enough details to find an interesting topic of conversation.

Poof. _Can you guess what I'm eating?_

Poof. _Will you_ _tell me_ _what those guesses_ might be _?_

Poof. _Am I interrupting anything?_

Poof. _Since I'm not interrupting conversation,_ the note began, but Cedric just closed the note back up and put it in his pocket, with the rest of her notes - aside from the one still coloring his stew. His answer had been clear that while he appreciated the attempt, he _was_ , in fact, busy eating. He'd expected that there wouldn't be any more notes. When it had appeared, he had expected that it would be a final, 'Well I'll let you get back to that then'. But it wasn't.

Still, he did go back to his meal with a smile.

Behind him, he heard Greylock laughing again. It didn't matter much what, exactly, the other boy was laughing about, it was still adorably - no, wrong word. _Aggravatingly_ loud.

* * *

Sofia arrived to Crage House's refectory somewhat later than her companions did theirs. As such, she only barely made it in the door before it was to be shut and locked by a prefect.

With an ingratiating smile and slight bow, Sofia started, "Sorry, uh -"

"Tizzy!" said the older girl. "Or, uh, Prefect Willendorf, I guess. But I like Tizzy better." She grinned and ushered Sofia inside quickly, then glanced around quickly for any other stragglers - there were none to be found - and went in herself, locking the door behind her.

Tizzy followed Sofia to the food line. "Sorry, don't mean to hover, it's just - you know. I've gotta eat too. Oh look out, the stew's hot!" Tizzy grabbed Sofia's wrist, to stop her it glancing the metal serving bowl, then quickly let it go. "Sorry, sorry. I just. If someone got hurt while I was standing watch over the meal, I… Eheh." She stood back and glanced away in embarrassment.

"No, no, you're fine!" Sofia said brightly. " _Thank_ you, for that and the door. So… I take it that being a Prefect is pretty stressful?"

With a nod, Tizzy answered, "Well, yes and no. It's a lot of responsibility _anyway_ , but. Headmistress Willendorf is my great aunt. She never had any kids herself, so I'm kind of expected to be her, uh, next in line, or whatever. So, like. It's…" She laughed nervously.

Sofia nodded sagely in return. "I _see_. Me, being a _lowly_ first-generation-spellcaster, _scholarship_ kid, I don't know what that's like, specifically. But it's still - she won't _say_ it, but my mom's expecting me to be The Successful One, you know? So… yeah. Not the same, but I think I get where you're coming from." She gave Tizzy a warm smile as she picked up some toast for her plate.

Tizzy put a hand on Sofia's shoulder and smiled genuinely, though not widely. "No worries, nearly half this house is scholarship. I know that doesn't help you much _out there_ , in classes, but here you should be good." She nodded, then looked as if she just remembered something. "And, hey, you're the one who just came in this year, aren't you? If you need any help, feel free to come to me. Or any of the Prefects, Crage House or otherwise." She paused, glanced around then leaned in to continue with a whisper, "Except Sascha. Er, I mean, Prefect Nettle. She's got a bit of a nasty streak, I'd avoid her if you could."

"Hm. Good to know. Thank you." Sofia looked at her plate - egg sandwich, steamed vegetables with cheese, toast, a small cup of yogurt with nuts in, and a glass of juice - and said, "Well, I think that's it. Thank you very much, Tizzy. I hope I'll see you around?" Tizzy nodded and continued picking out her food as Sofia left for her table.

When she got there, she was greeted by the other girls enthusiastically. "Sofia! Here, here, I saved you a spot!" A pale girl with long brown hair who wore a baggy sweater over her uniform moved her familiar, a small pig, off the bench next to her and to her lap, and patted the now empty spot.

Sofia plopped her bookbag and herself down and thanked her friend Mabel for the seat, but before she could say anything else, another girl directly across the table - Shauna, with curly brown hair, darker complexion than was common around here, and as many bows as she could get away with - asked, "Like, what _kept_ you? You're not usually late, let alone _nearly-missing-dinner_ late."

With a broad grin, Sofia said, "This. Familiarus Comhericus!" Clover materialized on the table in front of Sofia. Luckily, it wasn't actually right on top of her food. Unluckily, Clover fell upon Sofia's meal with gusto.

The girls were very impressed with Sofia's achievement, and cooing about how cute her familiar was. Sofia laughed lightly and merely moved Clover to her lap, but he managed to steal more and more from her plate. When directly asked to stop, though, he did - and the other girls didn't take any particular notice of that, either. Thankfully.

When finally over the adorably fluffy new thing, Shauna and Mabel still wanted to know more. How did she get her familiar without The Binding?

"Cedric, my tutor-" The other two girls looked at each other and grinned, and Sofia grinned back, though she felt the color rising in her cheeks, but continued unabated, "-found the necessary things to set up. I _guess_ you guys had some sort of whole...ceremony?" The two other girls nodded, and Sofia shrugged. "We didn't think that was necessary or _useful_ at this point, so we just kinda nixed that." She shrugged. "So we drew the sigils and runes on the table, and…" Sofia gestured to the rabbit on her lap. "But doing all that took longer than expected I guess, because by the time we were ready to go, it was already supper time."

There was a brief moment of silence before Mabel said, "Sooo, now we know about Clover. Did anything more… _iiinteresting_ happen?"

"Did your man, like, _sweep_ you off your feet? Or-"

Sofia was mumbling, "Funny you should mention…" What Shauna was actually interrupted by, however, was a poke to the ribs by a girl to her right as Sofia was starting to answer. "Yeah Alex?" Shauna asked, but rather than answer, Alex handed her a note and pointed to behind them. Shauna turned to look, to see a girl with long blonde hair waving at them from the far side of the Year 12 table.

"Serena!" Shauna squeaked and visibly blushed, but smiled. She immediately read the note, and started to write a return one when she'd finished.

"You knooow," said Mabel, "I recently learned a spell from Dipdop for sending tiny things to other people. You could pass notes to your Cedric _tooo_." She took out her wand and did a quick demonstration. It was an easy enough spell - odd that they hadn't learned it officially, but maybe that was specifically to try to prevent note-passing.

Sofia took out some paper from her bag, but couldn't find anything to write with. "Take mine!" Mabel said, pulling a strange pen from some pocket Sofia didn't see. Mabel flicked the transparent casing a few times, and Sofia could see the ink inside change color with each flick. When it was a pale violet, Mabel handed it over.

So Sofia started on the notes - to Greylock, first, who'd actually appreciate the gesture. Though Cedric might too, if what she remembered what Greylock said about their shared mealtimes correctly.

Greylock's replies were much faster and more entertaining. He congratulated her on managing the spell, given the first note was just to show what she could do; he asked about whether she planned to send notes to Cedric; and then...they talked about him behind his back. In a _good_ way, definitely! Really, it's more looking out for him. They worked on a plan, which Sofia shared with her friends, who agreed it was adorable and hilarious. Hopefully they'd _kiiiiss._ Cedric and her, that is, they didn't have any feelings about Greylock. Sofia laughed and shrugged, though looked sideways and started her next note without responding to that.

Cedric's replies were much more curt, once he started responding at all. He answered what he was eating, and… left no room for further discussion, so she had to move the conversation along herself.

Poof. _I could guess._

Poof. _The egg sandwich. I didn't pay much attention to the rest of the vegetarian fare._

Poof. _I am eating my food with no other social distractions than yourself._

And then he never responded to her last note, which was:

 _Since I'm not interrupting conversation, I wanted to say thanks again. For Clover and everything._

Oh well. This just convinced her further that her scheme with Greylock was a good idea.

* * *

 **A/N did you know trying to nominally edit things to be worthy of posting, while also attempting nano, is hard. and thanks to poly goggles as beta reader etc3**


	4. Call The Lost Forward

The breathing of the other nine girls in the room where Sofia slept had finally slowed and evened out. Connie, in particular, had been up irritatingly long, reading something under her covers by a conjured ball of light.

Well. _Finally,_ Sofia could leave. Sofia sent off a quick note that she'd written a little while ago, into a puff of smoke, and - after glancing around to make sure that that hadn't woken anyone - Sofia started to make her way out of the room. She wished she could conjure a ball of light like Connie's as she left, but she knew that would certainly alert _someone_ that she was out and about, long after lights-out. Some of her peers could force the light to be small, held in the palm of their hand, easily hidden and extinguished… Sofia's talents trended more the other direction. There was a _reason_ she'd been assigned to Cedric, though she hardly minded anymore. Still, her lack of control was… trying, at times.

Magical control, at least. Physically, she was surprisingly good at slinking through the most shadowy parts of the dark room, barely knocking against anything, all while in her nightgown. She moved slowly, very slowly, hands in front of her to feel for anything coming up in the darkness. It wasn't entirely pitch dark, though; the light of the moon shone in from the window, and once her eyes were adjusted, she could at least see the vague shapes of most things. Still, she was wary of kicking something with her shin, and the resulting noise - whether that was the physical sound of contact or whatever she might say in pain.

There was, somehow, a mouse in the room. Sofia luckily didn't actually step on it, but she nearly did, and it did let out a small squeak of alarm. She managed to squat down and calm it in time, though she rationalized while doing so that at least she'd have a good excuse, if this is why she was caught. They weren't, though, and both parties managed to go on their way unhindered.

Out of the bedroom and into the common areas of the House, Sofia was nearly caught by a wandering Prefect. Pearl, if Sofia remembered right. Er, that is, Prefect Rivera. A tall, thin young woman, with surprisingly pale skin and short, spiky orange hair. And a nose nearly as long as Cedric's.

Sofia nearly gave herself away giggling at the thought. However, she managed to crouch down into a corner of shadow quickly enough to evade the light of Pearl's candle, but not so suddenly as to trigger the peripheral movement...thing. Corner-of-your-eye jumpiness. Sofia silently thanked years of sneaking out to visit with Ruby and Jade while in Dunwiddee, of learning to evade her parents' eyes and ears.

While she waited for Prefect Rivera to pass, Sofia closed her eyes and thought about her father. It wasn't anything much, just a quiet passing moment of grieving; he'd died about three years ago, now.

And then Pearl had turned around, and the moment passed. Sofia made her way through the rest of the House successfully, though she mentally cursed the slightly squeaky hinges of the main door.

A broom was walking by the outside of the House. It was clearly a different broom than the one Cedric had enchanted - the stick was shorter, a different color, and the bristles were different. A push broom, rather than the regular sweeping broom from the tower. Still, it had the arms, and seemed to be using itself to dust the cobblestones by the moonlight.

"...Uh, hey, miss, mister, or mux broom?" Sofia asked in a low whisper. The broom stopped and... _seemed?_...to be paying attention. "If… If you're in a helpful mood, and don't mind, and you _can_ , could you maybe oil the hinges on this door here?" Sofia lightly patted the door she'd just come out of. Then she looked about her person and realized, "...I don't have anything to give you for that. To show thanks. If you're here tomorrow morning, I can get something, though I don't know if it'll actually be anything you _want_. But I'll _try_?" The broom gave her a thumbs up and scuttled away, presumably to get the oil.

* * *

There was a knock on the door. Cedric jumped at his reading, then glanced to the clock on the wall. _At this hour?_ He glanced over to Greylock, who was also still up. For the moment, he was wrapping some linen bandage around a toe he'd stubbed earlier, though with as much as he was using, it almost looked like his foot had been broken in half. His familiar, a fox, was playing with the extra bandage and a small piece of paper with a heart drawn on it at the foot of Greylock's bed.

What Greylock _didn't_ look was surprised. "Oh, _no_ ," Greylock said, finally cutting and tying off his bandage, "I'm rather indisposed at the moment, Woodtick. Could you possibly get the door?" Greylock fluttered his eyes faux-innocently.

With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, Cedric got up to do so - and found Sofia there, in her nightclothes and an amulet that was oddly ostentatious for sleeping in. Especially for her.

He raised an eyebrow, but glanced around the hall outside and having seen no one about, said, "Come in, come in now, before anyone sees you. _Us._ I assume you're here for him?" Cedric nodded towards Greylock and went back to his bed and his book.

Sofia smiled and turned to face Greylock. "Hey, Grey, are you rea- _oh dear!_ What ever could have happened?" Sofia's eyes were wide, and her hand was to her mouth, but she didn't seem to have her heart in it. Or, rather, it looked to Cedric like she was trying to hold back a smile.

"I have wounded my foot! I cannot go on!" Greylock put the back of his hand to his forehead as he leaned back on his bed in a faux-swoon.

Sofia frowned deeply. "I see. I suppose I shall just have to go explore the grounds on my own, alone." She looked pointedly at Cedric. Cedric pointedly did not look at her, though he could see her from the corner of his eye.

"I _suppose_ I could lend you Fiyero, though I would sorely prefer to have him with me during my convalescence."

Sofia blinked. "Ah, uh, yes! This fox here, right? I'm sure he - ah…" Sofia knitted her brows and sank to the floor, kneeling in front of the mentioned fox, who chittered and gestured a bit. "Greylock? Fiyero's a girl." Cedric put his book down.

It was Greylock's turn to blink. " _Is_ he now? ...She, I guess. How do you know?"

"I, ah. Talk to Familiar, and all?" She grinned and laughed. Cedric raised an eyebrow to himself, and went to get a different book from his shelf. Sofia started to continue, "So, what can-"

-But she was interrupted by Greylock. "Talk to Familiar? And someone _else's_ familiar, at that. That's a high level spell, Sofia! How did you manage that? _I,_ Greylock the Grand-" Both Cedric and Sofia rolled their eyes at that, "-and more importantly a year ahead of you, can't even do that spell. I'd be willing to bet even _Cedric_ can't do that spell. Can you, Cardtick?"

"No, I can't," Cedric answered without looking up, and flipped to a dog-eared page in his book, _Mystical and Legendary Artefacts Through The Ages._

Sofia laughed again and leaned back, sitting on the floor and twiddling her thumbs. "Iiit's… a savant skill! I can't do much of anything _else_ that high-level, _definitely_ not finely tuned. You've seen me try to do… well, anything yeah, _haha_. But since I've been here, around Familiars, it's just - it's just been a thing I don't really think about?" Cedric leaned his head to one side as he looked at Sofia over the book, then glanced back down. And up, and down.

Greylock shrugged, and started speaking again, returning to the over-acted tone from before. "Well, yes. You can borrow _her_ for your otherwise-solo campus grounds exploration. I'm _sure_ she can protect you from any magical mishaps, whether you spring an old spell, or accidentally cast something - which, as you yourself admitted, tend to be of broad-range - or just the residual effects of something a student has forgotten to dispell, or -"

"Like brooms, perchance?" Sofia asked, while trying to nonchalantly tuck her amulet into her nightdress.

"Are those still about? Hah! Or brooms."

Those? Still about? ...OH. _The brooms._ Cedric jolted as he realized what they were talking about. ... _Brooms, plural? Oh no._ Cedric finally put his book aside, front cover down, and said, "Yes, yes, all right. I know what you're getting at. _Fine_ I'll accompany you on this _escapade_ , Sofia. Let's go, and be quick about it. The sooner we set off, the sooner we'll be back."

Cedric grabbed a smooth rock from his desk, but otherwise didn't prepare for the exploration expedition, just heading out into the school in his eggplant-colored dressing gown. It hardly looked any sillier than Sofia wandering in her thin blue nightdress, which barely came to her knees.

"Before you go, Sofia," Greylock said just as they were about to head out the door, "I actually _did_ hurt my foot. I mean I know this was part of it all, but my toe does _actually_ hurt, if incidentally."

Sofia and Cedric both rolled their eyes for what were probably quite different reasons. Sofia went back into the room, kissed the tips of her fingers, and lightly patted at Greylock's haphazardly bandaged foot. "There, all better?" Cedric wasn't sure if that was supposed to be mocking or not.

Either way, Greylock smiled broadly and said, "Ah, perfect! True love's kiss." He winked and then waved them out of the room, so they finally went.

It was significantly easier to sneak out of Goodwyn House than Crage, both with the individual sleeping quarters and the fact that most of the students had mothers or fathers (or both) that were rich and/or politically powerful enough to buy their children's way out of trouble, so it was easier to just not bother with much in the way of security where student mischief was concerned.

Once they were a few hundred paces away from Cedric's House, he broke the companionable silence to ask, "It's the Amulet, isn't it?"

Sofia jumped. "What? I don't know what you're talking about." She wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Talking to Fiyero - Fiyer _-ah_? - like that." Cedric nodded sideways and lazily gestured towards Sofia's torso, and the lump that wasn't well hidden behind only a single layer of cloth. Not to mention other curves… But Cedric wasn't thinking about that, not now. "That's the Amulet of Avalor you're wearing, I think, and I also believe it's given you this _power_."

Sofia shrugged dramatically. " _If_ I had such a thing, which I'm _definitely_ not saying I do, but _if I did_ have something as valuable as that, I certainly wouldn't wear it out in the open, so how would you even-"

Cedric cut her off. "Oh, certainly not. Not unless by accident, when you're not used to being in the open, like tonight for example… or maybe at a _masquerade_."

Sofia's eyes widened and she bit her lip. _Hah! Finally!_ Cedric knew he'd get her back for the bangs thing earlier. ...There were still several other backlogged subtle wins he'd have to get Sofia back for, but he had at least this one.

"Don't _worry_ , I'm not going to spread it around." Cedric grunted and crossed his arms. "Nor is it obvious. Greylock's around you more than I am, and he doesn't seem to have cottoned on; largely, it's that I take particular interest in powerful magical artefacts. Their, ah, histories, that is, nothing more than that." He slid his gaze to one side, and he fidgeted uncomfortably as they walked.

Sofia nodded. "That's really good to know. Do you think I should be more careful about hiding it, then?"

Cedric shook his head. "I've seen it all of twice, and one of those times I didn't even realize until I looked at it in hindsight. You've hidden it under blouses or... _whatever_ well enough." Cedric was glad for the relative dark, he thought he his cheeks tingling and warm, probably quite colorful in the light.

Sofia nodded, then shivered. "It's colder out here than I expected. I guess I should have _known,_ since it's early November and all. And I know how the temp drops at night. I just kinda… _forgot_ , being here." She crossed her arms for warmth. "Well, I guess this at least gives you a good excuse to-"

"Yes, yes, here, _take_ it." Cedric shucked off his robe, leaving him in his long johns and looking extra gangly for it. He held it by the collar and shoved it in the direction of Sofia, who didn't react immediately aside from blinking in surprise. So, he took his other hand and spread the collar wider and draped it about her shoulders.

"Thank you," she said, finally. "Really. I wasn't _trying_ to get it off you-" Cedric blinked and tried not to blush _again_ at her wording. _Merlin's Mushroom his mind was in the gutter tonight._ "-so I'm sorry if it seemed like that? Just trying to make conversation. It's really snuggly though, I can see why you like it so much." She grinned and got her arms through the slightly too-long sleeves, and hugged herself.

"Careful, watch th-" But whatever he was going to say was cut off as Sofia pulled him suddenly to one side, and leaned up to put a hand over his mouth.

There was someone approaching. All they could see for the moment was the distant candlelight, but it was definitely heading their way. Sofia and Cedric looked around, and saw a door they quickly went through to hide.

Aaand it turned out to be some sort of closet. _Great_.

It wasn't a roomy space, by any means, but they weren't being pressed up against each other, forced to share a single square foot of floor space, thankfully. It was more like… four square feet. Still uncomfortably close, but not awful.

...Oddly, it wasn't actually all that uncomfortable, though. Yes, there was the threat of discovery. That was definitely alarming, and Cedric's pulse had quickened noticeably. But, well, since there was a _point_ to it, the physical closeness was not an issue, like it often was. Of course, there's also that this _was_ Sofia, who would certainly push his boundaries - tonight was a prime example of that - but when he directly said no, she seemed to back off. And, well, that she actually seemed to like him, despite his admittedly grouchy demeanor. She made the effort to include him.

For now, though, they stood in silence, Sofia standing by the door with one hand on Cedric's chest to keep him back - which was its own level of stressful, truth be told, but the physical contact was, for once, not the actual source of discomfort - and her other hand on the door's handle to keep it mostly closed without causing the latch to click and give them away.

Eventually, though, the danger passed. "It was hard to tell through the crack, but I _think_ it was just… What's her name? Rainery?"

"The green girl? I wonder what _she's_ doing up." Cedric shrugged, and started to work a minor spell. "Still wouldn't do to be discovered," he said, "by a student or otherwise. So, where are we to head now, then?"

Sofia looked around and shrugged. "I don't really know any of this place. Part of the reason for the exploration. Though it does look so different at night… Still, it's fun! Where do _you_ think we should go?" She blinked up at him and grinned brightly, especially given the witchlight Cedric had just summoned. "...I wonder why she was using a candle," Sofia added, mostly to herself.

"I don't know. Sentimentality, probably. Leering at people over the flames, looking dramatic." Cedric lowered his hovering light to below his chin, made what he intended to be a scary face, and wiggled his fingers. "Oo~ _oo~_ ooh," he said in an approximation of bedtime-story monster impressions.

"Maybe." Sofia giggled, then looked thoughtful. "That doesn't answer where we should go, though."

Cedric hesitated. "Well…"

"Yes?"

"As you said, the grounds look very different at night. The light and shadows are different, everything is interpreted differently. Not to mention, it's harder to see _period_. I'm not sure where we navigated, exactly, especially while I was concentrating on you so much." Er. Wait. That sounded bad. "That is, while we were walking, I was paying attention to you and how-" _How nice she looked in his robe._ That was even worse than before. "How you, uh, and we…"

Sofia tilted her head. "So, what you're saying is… we're lost." Oh thank Ouranos, she thought the stumbling was because of _that_. ...Not that that wasn't _also_ rather awful, now that he was brought back to it, but it was easier to admit that than… _than..._

With a sigh, just as much relieved as it was conceding defeat (though hopefully Sofia couldn't read that much into a single exhalation of air), Cedric said, "Yes, that about sums it up." He felt for his rock in of one of his robe's pockets and was satisfied that he did, in fact, have it. "Familiarus Comhericus," he said without enthusiasm, and Wormwood materialized on his shoulder, the lump in his pocket disappearing. "Wormy, please go and fetch… Better thought, lead us back to Crage House."

"Aww, so soon?" Sofia asked, less in a whine than just a generally sad tone. "Is there any chance you'd do this again, at least? ...Maybe with a guide of some sort, but still."

Cedric had already set off after the raven, but once Sofia caught up he answered, "I make no promises one way or the other."

On the way back, though, they passed by the big clock tower on the school's grounds, and Sofia managed to get Cedric to go inside the base of it. It was past the holiday by now, but she'd heard the spooky stories the other children leading up to Halloween about it.

They hadn't expected it to be already occupied.

By a Professor no less. He wore an exceedingly tall top hat, brown like his suit, making him seem rather tall while sitting down.

Both students tried to think of some excuse, but both barely managed a word before the man in front of them said, "No worries, children. Stay, if you'd like. If someone else comes, we can tell them I commandeered you for some task." His dark eyes twinkled in the summoned witchlight, and he smiled warmly, gesturing to the bench he sat on and the others in the room.

Both students looked visibly relieved. Sofia said "Thanks, Professor… Latham?" and sat on the bench by the older gentleman.

The man cocked an eyebrow but didn't manage to say anything before Cedric cut in. "He's Layton," he answered to Sofia, still standing. Then, turning, "Thank you, indeed. Have there been any new recruits in the Invention Club?"

Layton shook his head. "No, just the old regulars. If you do find time this year, you're more than welcome to come back any time, you know." He took a breath, looked at the two of them, and smiled. "So, what has you two wandering the grounds so late, anyhow?"

Sofia shrugged, more gently than before, only a slight uplifting of her shoulders. "Exploring. Adventure. That wonderfully odd feeling of going through places you're used to being busy and bright and loud, and seeing them as dark, dull, quiet but for the echoes of your footsteps. Spookiness. Like the tower here, I hear there's a ghost?"

Cedric's eyes widened and he tried to gesture to her to stop talking, but he was behind her and didn't manage to work up the nerve to touch her intentionally. (...Baby steps, apparently.)

Layton nodded, though his smile fell. "Yes, the students do… go on about that. The supposed ghost is - _was_ \- my fiancée, and the incident happened near Halloween… It's no puzzle to see why they would."

It was hard to tell in the dim light in the room, but it looked like Sofia blanched. "Oh," she said softly. "I'm so sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to disrespect you or her like that." Sofia bit her lip and lowered her head, and Cedric _thought_ he saw Sofia glancing at the amulet. He certainly did, or where it hung under her dress. Not that he knew what to expect when it activated, but he knew the rhyme in his book: " _With each deed performed, for better or worse, a power is granted, a blessing or curse_."

But nothing happened.

Professor Layton spoke up again, "I believe I've been here, remembering her, long enough." He stood up, and it turned out that he was rather short. The top of his hat was a few inches above the top of Cedric's head, but his eyes were closer to Sofia's level. "If you two wish to gallivant about, I won't stop you, but for the excuse to hold that I've taken you out of your beds, it would be best to return with me to them. Now, which houses do each of you sleep in, then?"

They answered, and given that Crage House was closer, all went to drop Sofia off first. On the way to Goodwyn House, Cedric and Layton spoke more of the Invention Club, but Cedric gave no more promises about returning to Layton than he did to Sofia.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you all for your kind words! No worries on the story front despite the slow uploading, btw; I've passed 22k words today. It's just that going back, editing, beta reader thoughts, etc, that takes time and being in the mood. Thank you all again, your words spur me on to greater heights. Until next time~!**


	5. Not About Aptitude

When Sofia entered the Cedric's tower, as she'd taken to calling it, for a tutoring lesson, she had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing.

Cedric sat at the table in the room - quite spotless, even polished since last time they were here earlier that week - and, over his usual uniform of slacks, dress shirt, vest, and tie, he wore… his blackberry-juice colored dressing gown.

She also had to hold herself back from running forward and just tackle-hugging him, honestly. The laughter that threatened to bubble up from her throat wasn't mocking, though she knew he'd take it that way if she didn't keep a lid on it. It was understandable, even. At this school, she was learning, much of anyone who was different was ridiculed, treated as Other, regarded with suspicion and derision.

But here and now, in the study, grumpy old Cedric looked so adorable, grouchy expression hunched over some papers in his fuzzy robe.

Greylock wasn't here, today, oddly enough. Well, not _that_ odd, Sofia supposed, he did have his own life-but he tended to like to study with Cedric and herself so it was still worth noting.

His absence meant that, given Cedric was absorbed in his work, Sofia had a few moments to calm herself down before she actually announced herself, thankfully. Greylock wouldn't have _intentionally_ done or said anything, probably, but they tended to be a positive feedback loop of merriment and energy.

Which was fun. It was fantastic, Greylock was great like that. It was _somewhat less_ fantastic for Cedric. Sofia did catch herself wondering what it might be like if Cedric was more energetic, more outgoing… But that would make him not Cedric any longer, and well of course she couldn't have that. It was… _hard_ to work with him, sometimes, due to their conflicting natures, but that wouldn't mean she wouldn't try just as hard as she could.

So, alone, she was able to simmer down. "Afternoon, Cedric," she said brightly with a smile, finally making her way into the room itself. "You look comfy."

Cedric looked up at her with a squint and a slight scowl, though tilted his head. "I'm not trying to rib you," she said, hoping she was answering a question he was thinking rather than planting a seed of doubt in his mind in the first place. "It's so fuzzy, and comfy, and warm. ...I might have to steal one of Mabel's sweaters someday soon." She didn't add, _or your robe._ She knew better than to hope for _that_ to happen again.

"Yes, it rather is," Cedric responded, apparently mollified. "I don't understand why this sort of thing isn't common. It's so much more… _bearable_ than the awful starched uniforms. Eugh." He shivered for effect. "So, what's on the agenda today, Miss Sofia?"

Sofia rolled her eyes, but sat down. "I'm getting most of what I need to in class, for now. Nothing remedial this week. So more control practice sounds good." Sofia wondered, briefly, if Cedric didn't need some control practice himself - she was fairly sure that, if she were to look out the window, she'd be able to find an ambulatory broom wandering outside. It _was_ rather odd that it hadn't been cleaned up yet, as far as she could tell, and Sofia hadn't known other spells to be self-propagating, either. On the other hand, she wasn't about to make any noises towards school staff that could either land Cedric in trouble, or have her assigned to anyone else.

They decided to start with levitation. Cedric gathered most of his papers into his bag, or at least stuck them mostly in the vicinity, and nudged Sofia's bag by his with his foot; placed a book from the study's shelves onto the table, a rather thin paperback; stepped into the arched doorway leading into the room; and asked her to try to levitate the book. "About six inches should be a good goal." He blinked and thought for a moment, then tugged Sofia by the arm into the archway with him. She unintentionally shivered slightly at the purposeful touch, and hoped he didn't notice.

What Sofia _intentionally_ did was smile up at him, then turned to face the room. She pulled her wand out from the long pocket (more of a sheath, really) on her thigh, made a swooping motion then a small upward flick - a _very small_ flick, no more than an inch of the sudden movement, measured at the tip of the wand.

Everything in the room jolted upwards. The room itself even felt like it was tugging upwards, but held fast.

"Good, _good_!" Cedric said. "Your range is too broad, still. I suppose you were already mentally focused on the book?" Sofia nodded, and having lost her concentration, everything fell back to the floor. It sounded like the table splintered a bit; and the shelves and the books that had been _on_ those shelves, clattered to the floor, given their binding to the wall had been broken. ...It wasn't screws, since the wall was cobblestone as well as the floor. Masonry? Whatever, the wall was made of large rock 'bricks'. Maybe it was magic keeping the shelves up. At any rate, Sofia had broken it.

"Zeus' Zucchini. You should put things back when required to respond while casting, at least until you're more able to do so subconsciously." Cedric glanced sideways with a small pout, which Sofia hoped was his small acknowledgement that he'd distracted her. Then he looked back at Sofia to continue. "Good control of the height. I suppose the majority of the figure-eight swoop will have to be physically contracted as well, to indicate _specifically_ what you want to levitate."

Sofia tried again, this time managing to pick up only the table, aside from the intended book. She manage to put it down again, gently this time, and stepped forward to be better able to pinpoint the book with the tip of her wand, and performed the spell- _successfully_.

Suddenly, both looked up at the sound of footsteps loudly echoing up the stairs to the tower, and Sofia dropped the book before she could notice she'd done it, or Cedric could praise her for it.

Greylock turned out to be the source, appearing at the top breathing somewhat heavily. He nearly ran into Cedric in the doorway, but steadied himself and moved around the other boy. He called out, more loudly than necessary, "Sofia! We're going to be _late_!"

Sofia was muddled for a moment, until Greylock said, "Auditions, _remember_?"

Sofia gasped. "Oh no! Is that _today_? Cedric, I'm sorry, I've got to go." With that, she started gathering her things. Well, less 'gathering' and more 'shoving anything that looked like it was hers into her bookbag'.

Cedric blinked and finally managed to ask, "Late for _what_ now?"

"Oh. Um. Tryouts for the autumn play. Would you like to come too?" Sofia didn't stop moving as she asked, and only barely glanced up at him before looking back to what she was doing.

Cedric scoffed. " _Yes_ , absolutely. Me and the arts mix about as well as oil and water. ...No, no, I think _potassium_ and water is a more apt… ah. What's the word?"

Sofia answered, "Metaphor? Analogy?"

Greylock, still by the door, said, "I'd have invited you too, Candlewick, but I thought you'd say as much." Sofia didn't catch the scowl that scrunched Cedric's face just then.

"Would you want to come along to sign up as a stagehand?" Sofia offered, looking around for last things to stuff in her bag.

Cedric folded his arms in a pout. "Does that _actually_ sound like any better of an idea?"

Sofia sighed. "I really _am_ sorry, Cedric," she said, stuffing the last things in her bag, and finally pausing to look at him. "I'm usually better at scheduling than this. Is there any way to make it up to you…?"

Cedric shrugged and grinned, though his eyes were hard. "I've finally got time to work on my Independent Study in Potions, now that _you're_ leaving. No need to make _me_ feel any better!" Sofia bit her lip at the caustic tone of voice Cedric used. She reached out a hand, clearly intending to touch his, but pulled it back.

"For what it's worth, Cedric, I'm sorry too," said Greylock. "But Sofia, we really _need_ to go if we want any chance at all."

Sofia left with Greylock then, giving Cedric a last, "Sorry," just before she started down the stairs.

* * *

Greylock and Sofia came running up to the side doors to the assembly hall just as a Prefect was starting to close them. Luckily, they caught her attention. "Wait, wait!" they both called, and the girl looked up - and Sofia recognized Tizzy.

"Oh, hi again, Sofia!" the girl said brightly. "And your friend. You're here to try out?" Both Greylock and Sofia simply nodded, somewhat out of breath. "You should keep a better eye on the time, Sofia, I can't save you _every_ time you're late. Believe me I'd _like_ to, but there's only so much even I can do." She shrugged and gestured them in.

They thanked her and rushed inside, to… hurry up and wait. The doors were closed behind them, yes, but there was still a line to wait in, before they could read their lines.

"This… is good, actually," Greylock said. "We have a chance to catch our breath, competition notwithstanding."

"Not to mention," Sofia added, "the first and last in a group are always the most memorable."

Greylock nodded. "Still, I'd almost trade a shorter wait for that boon. My heart doesn't seem to agree that this position ought to be less stressful."

"I _think_ that might just have been the running," Sofia said, though she couldn't really disagree.

They looked ahead, and while Greylock seemed to perk up and left to talk to someone, Sofia didn't see anyone she recognized to talk to. So she did the next best thing: made new friends.

"Hi there! I'm Sofia, what's your name?" she said to the person directly in front of her. They turned out to be one of the few nonhuman students in the school, an elf girl with unnaturally pale skin and purple hair that curled in broad swoops - and, of course, the pointed ears you'd expect.

The girl smiled, and answered, "I'm Belle! Nice to meetcha." They talked about their pieces for the audition - it turned out Belle _could_ recite lines, and was in fact planning on doing that for the dialogue with her partner, but was more interested in singing, on the off chance this play was a musical. Sofia hadn't heard the song she planned to sing, "Let It Go," but she was very excited to hear it, and said as much. She also, inwardly, hoped she wasn't too obviously chattering nervously about nothing in particular.

Another girl walked up at some point, probably Belle's sister or other relative - or was that culturally insensitive to assume that similar color scheme meant relation? The older elf's skin was slightly darker than Belle's though still very pale, and her hair was a darker purple and curled differently - though that was probably due to a beauty regime rather than genetic difference. "Sweetie, how are you doing? And oh, is this a friend of yours? _Lovely_ to meet you, darling, a friend of Belle's is a friend of mine. If you'll have me, of course. I'm Rarity, and you are…?"

"Sofia, pleasure to meet you." She grinned and curtsied a little. It probably wasn't _strictly_ necessary, but this girl seemed so classy that it felt wrong not to. "Are you Belle's partner, then?"

"Me? _Heavens_ no." Rarity gave a tinkling laugh and waved a hand dismissively. "I'm only here for the costume department and moral support for my dear sister, don't mind _me_."

The conversation petered out, and Sofia looked around again. The line had gotten shorter, considerably shorter, but there was still a long wait ahead. She looked around and spotted Greylock talking to a student with longish red-brown hair, and wandered over to hear the other boy saying, "Well, whoop-de-frickin- _doo_ for you." She came a few steps closer and Greylock saw and acknowledged her with a slight wave, as the other boy added, "And there aren't even any _girls here_ , ugh."

"Perfect timing!" Greylock said over the boy's shoulder as Sofia walked up. "Rusty, old boy, _haaave_ you met Sofia?" He gave Sofia a slight nudge at the top of her back towards his friend, then left.

"It's TS and you know that!" the boy shouted, but Greylock was already lost in the crowd. With a sigh, he looked back at Sofia and said in a more level tone, "Yes, well, hello. I'm TS, as you just heard. Sofia, is it? How nice to meet you." He didn't sound sarcastic, exactly, but not entirely genuine, either.

"Nice to meet you too, TS," Sofia said. "Is that short for something?"

"Thaddeus. _Much_ too pretentious to use _that shit_ on a daily basis, but then any shortening of that is nearly as juvenile as 'Rusty,' even if it's not- well, you know." Sofia didn't know. "So, what do you think the play's gonna be? A musical, maybe?" Why did everyone think it was going to be a musical? Did Sofia miss a memo? ...Well, no, TS here didn't seem to know much more than she did.

"Belle sure seemed to think it would be," Sofia said.

TS's eyes lit up. "Another girl into theater! I might have a chance."

Sofia put a hand up to stop him. "I don't know if you're thinking what I _think_ you're thinking, but if you are: she's too young for you. I think she might be an Eighth or Ninth Year, _maybe_ Tenth." Though she was also an elf, so maybe looks were deceiving? Probably not, with how Rarity looked more like her age, or maybe a little older. "Anyway, so she seemed to think it was a musical. I'd assumed it wasn't, but I also only just started this year, so…?" Sofia shrugged.

TS crossed his arms and gave her a once-over. " _Oooh_ , oh I get it. You're the girl Cedric is tutoring, right? Instead of coming to Invention Club anymore. _Just_ like him, to put magic over _making useful things_."

Sofia blinked. Huh. Cedric talked about her. "Well, he's got big shoes to fill, hasn't he? In the whole magic department, with his dad even getting a House renamed after him, the one Cedric _lives_ in. He's under a lot of pressure to succeed."

TS scoffed. "Yeah, and look how much _that_ has helped him! Inventing was the only thing he's ever been very good at. _And,_ don't you even _try_ to lecture me about big shoes, missy!" TS scowled deeply and wagged his finger at Sofia's face. "My father _coined the term_ 'Adventure Party' with his little _quests_. Well, it was originally 'Venture,' given that it's our last name, but of course the public fucks with everything." He snorted in derision. "I mean, at least we got out of the shithole that was Oz, but I don't know, I might have preferred to be in a damned war zone, eaten right the hell up by -I think the weapons these days were dragons, or some kind of magic book? - Than be _dragged along_ on those _campaigns_ by dear old dad!" TS threw his arms into the air dramatically and looked away from Sofia, and continued in a high, mocking voice. "'Rusty, hold this loot from this guy we just killed.' 'Rusty, test to see if this trap is active.' ' _Rusty_ you nearly _died_ , isn't that _hilarious_!?'"

Sofia could only blink as TS caught his breath and calmed down.

"I'm - I'm sorry, you didn't need to see that," he said, much calmer than before, though still a little red in the face. He didn't meet her eye, either, so probably embarrassed. "You know, I don't _usually_ go shouting my life story to everyone I meet. You just happened along the perfectly wrong button combination with me! _Joyous_ day."

Sofia laughed weakly. "That's all right. It's obviously not quite the same, but being his friend I'm used to Cedric's hot and cold moods. He doesn't usually _yell_ so much, but I'm fine. And so are you." She hesitated to put her hand out to him, given the Cedric similarity, but that was ridiculous. So she touched his shoulder lightly, but withdrew before TS could do anything about it.

"Anyway," she said brightly, "the play should be fun, regardless of whether it's a musical. I'm more curious as to whether it will be a tragedy or a comedy, broadly, but also - well, _everything_ about it I guess!" She laughed again, and it sounded more genuine this time, at least to her own ears. It was hard to say how it came off, though. "The few plays I did, ah -" ...Well, he'd told her _his_ life story, his weak spots, he probably wouldn't use hers against her. "-Back in the village, where I grew up, we always knew what play we were auditioning for, and often read lines from it. It seems more practical, rather than asking students to find their own pieces that might and might not reflect anything from the play itself, but who am _I_ to judge?"

"Wow, yeah, it seems even more fucked when you put it like that," TS said. Sofia wasn't sure if she was slightly endeared or appalled at the way he threw commoner 'curse' words around - when he was having a minor nervous breakdown was one thing, but he still did it even now. Though, she supposed it was better than some of the students using literal-curse-words. It seemed like every day of class, someone different was absent to have something treated in the infirmary. They were almost always back the next day, regardless of whether they cast the curse on someone else or themselves, but it was still… hard to get used to.

Not long after that, TS and his dialogue-reading partner - a guy named Heinz apparently, who had scraggly brown hair, a large chin... an exceedingly long nose, a slump, and wore a nonstandard dressing gown or coat or something over his school uniform; as if TS wasn't reminiscent enough of Cedric himself - were called to the stage, and Sofia went back to the end of the line.

"Sooo," Greylock said when she got back, "what do you think of our man Rusty, eh?"

Sofia bit her lip and took a breath. "Yeahhh _, about that_. I think that nickname might bother him more than Cedric's do him."

Greylock blinked in surprise and asked, "How do you mean?"

"Heee said some things he didn't quite mean to, I think. I pressed 'all the wrong buttons,' or something like that." Sofia shrugged. "I won't repeat what he said, any of it - but I think there's actual trauma tied to the name, so, like… Maybe _don't_ call him that?"

Greylock took and blew out a deep breath. "Well, don't I just feel like a Rocinante's round ass." He was looking into the middle distance and lightly shaking his head. "All right, no more of that. Thorin's Thigh-highs, though, I had no idea, I never meant to..." He turned back to Sofia. "You _do_ have a knack for getting people to open up to you, don't you. I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse."

Sofia laughed, what she hoped didn't sound nervously, and moved to scratch her neck without thinking. "So how about you? Who'd you go talk to after you left me with TS?"

Greylock clasped his hands together and smiled. "A lovely boy named Jamie. Shares my fervor for the stage. We didn't talk much, but I hope we do more in the future."

This time Sofia's laugh was definitely genuine. "He sounds delightful, I'd love to meet him. Before I met TS, I talked to a girl named Belle. - No, I don't know if it's after historical _Princess_ Belle, she's an elf. She was very sweet, and so was her sister, though _she_ was only here for costume creation, I guess. We should see more of Rarity at least, I guess. That is, assuming we both make it in?"

* * *

At the back of the line, there hadn't been much to do but wait in tense semi-silence. Or, well, it was Sofia so it probably wouldn't end up being silence, he could almost always find _something_ to talk about with her. Still, he had plenty of opportunities to talk to her, and a change of pace to calm his nerves sounded like a good idea. So he'd scanned the crowd ahead of them and - _Ah, Rusty!_

Greylock came up behind Rusty and clapped him on the shoulder, causing the other to jump. "Rusty, my man!" Greylock said, "How are you? Haven't seen you since we shared Wish Physics last year, how've you been?"

Rusty scowled and picked Greylock's hand off, gingerly, like it was something slimy and disgusting. "It's still TS. And I'm _fine_ , thanks. Didn't know _you_ were into theater."

Greylock laughed heartily. "Oh, it's probably only my favorite hobby. It's not like I go out of my way to see any shows I can, to participate as often and as thoroughly as I can _while_ I can. I can see how you'd miss it."

Rusty crossed his arms, saying, "Well, it's not like we _talked_ much. Honestly I'm not sure why you're pretending like we're _friends_ or something, we worked on a few projects together. Big freaking deal."

" _And_ whiled away the time, so that awful Nikidik's lectures didn't defy the space-time continuum and last for _literally ever_. Actual life-saver, you are."

Rusty shrugged and huffed. "Yeah, well, whatever, I still don't see what you're bothering me for. No, you can't switch to be my dialogue partner, and you'd better not have stolen my monologue."

Greylock tilted his head. "I don't know, what is it?"

"Like I'd tell _you_ so you can steal it. I don't think so."

"How could I _possibly_ 'steal' it in this little time, Thaddeus? I've got my own scene, which I've practiced in my room for a while now, much to my roommate's chagrin. I wouldn't change _now_ unless my very life depended on it, or my friends' I suppose."

Rusty shrugged again. "Yes, well, I'm still not telling you."

Greylock sighed. "Well, is it from Cyrano de Bergerac?"

"Nnno…" said Rusty.

"Well then good news, Rust!" Greylock clapped a hand on Rusty's shoulder again. "I haven't stolen your monologue. I _do_ wish you good luck on your _mysteriously_ special monologue, it must be special to you to garner that kind of protectiveness. I know _mine_ is as much to me, though I suppose that's likely true of all the theatre. One of my favorite scenes, I've put a lot of work into it. Not to say that all the other guys and gals with us haven't, just that I really hope I do it justice."

"Well, whoop-de-frickin- _doo_ for you." Rusty said, as Greylock saw Sofia approaching and offered a wave. "And there aren't even any _girls_ _here_ , ugh."

Well. If Rusty thought that talking to Greylock was just not on, maybe he'd feel better about talking to a girl. And if any girl could liven this old sad sack up… "Perfect timing!" Greylock said over Rusty's shoulder as Sofia walked up. "Rusty, old boy, _haaave_ you met Sofia?" He gave Sofia a slight nudge at the top of her back towards his friend, then left.

Hmm… Who else… No one Greylock recognized. New crowd this year, apparently - most of his friends from previous years _had_ graduated, he supposed.

Well! That boy looked pretty cute. "Ho there, chum! I'm Greylock. And what might _your_ delightful name be?"

"Jamie," the boy answered, "future thespian, known the world over." He clenched his fist, raised it to face level and closed his eyes. "I shall put my heart upon the page, my love upon the stage, and the crowd will cheer, _oh_ will it cheer."

Greylock's eyes were twinkling as he grinned. "Oh _my_! You're a man after my own heart, Jamie. Looks like I've got some stiff competition, mm?" Maybe he could get something else stiff. Not now, of course, but with the way things were going elsewhere, Greylock figured he really needed a romantic ( _and otherwise_ ) distraction.

"Yup," said Jamie, coming out of his previous dramatic state. "I mean, good luck. May the best man win, and all. But I'm not going to go _easy_ on anything, so you know."

Greylock laughed and lightly poked Jamie. "I should hope not! We've only just met. I certainly will be giving it my all when I'm finally up on stage. I'm last, even, so you'll want to put some extra oomph into yours to make up for that."

Jamie nodded, but said, "I always put my all into _everything_. ...Everything related to theatre. I can't wait to get out of here, work for, eventually _lead_ a magical acting troupe. Traveling, based in a specific theatre, I don't know, but it's so _exciting_."

With a half-smile and a small sigh, Greylock said, "I rather envy you that dream. I love the theatre with all my heart, have since I was a wee lad." He paused, looked at Jamie, and clarified, "That is, a child, not 'lad' as they call them these days. The obnoxious older boys and young men who cause such a ruckus being all over themselves and each other." ...That was significantly more sexual than he intended that visual to be, but he wasn't about to take it back. "Anyhow, I've loved it for _so_ long. However, my bloodlines are Too Good for following my dreams, I suppose. I'm a _good_ sorcerer, there's no doubt of that; some would even say Grand! I should even be able to pick up a Royal Sorcerer position, especially with my mother's noble status. Oh, but I'd _like_ to join you on the stage."

Now Jamie's wide eyes glittered in the dim lights. He put a hand on Greylock's shoulder and said, dramatic as before, "It is a hard life you lead friend. But I know, _you can persevere_." A voice called for Jamie from the other side of the stage door. "I must go now, but know: I shall be thinking of you, and your struggle, friend. Farewell." Greylock watched the young man walk through with his dialogue partner, a girl in his year with long, bright red hair. ...Erza, was it? He heaved a sigh and clutched at his chest - he wasn't sure if Jamie's dramatism was wearing off on him or if he'd have felt slightly heart fluttery anyway. It looked like his instincts led him right, anyhow.

But for now, he'd have to wind down, stay his nerves, _nail_ that audition, and hope that he and Jamie at least both got parts.


	6. It's The Way You're Viewed

Finally, it was time. Sofia could barely hear the ending of Belle's song, which sounded lovely, at least through the door. Then a voice sounded - "Do we _look_ like Enchancian Idol, dear? That's lovely, but now is neither the time nor the place." _Oh, poor girl._

A moment, then, "Next, please!" called a different voice, still from the other side of the door. "Dialogue first, so both of you, come on out."

Sofia and Greylock grinned at each other and gripped the other's hands, then let them go and went through the door.

On stage, they introduced themselves to the judges - and some students who had either stayed behind after their own auditions, or had come specifically to watch.

Tizzy sat near the judges, but off to one side. She waved at them excitedly. Her great-aunt, Headmistress Willendorf, was less amused. Then there were a few professors, including the Literature professor, who directed the play each autumn.

There was a moment of pregnant silence as the two geared themselves up, then Sofia said loudly, enunciating as well as she could, "We shall be doing a scene from the classic play, _Pygmalion_." She turned to Greylock, and without further ado, began.

Sofia put on a look of abject terror. "I ain't done nothing wrong by speaking to the gentleman." Her accent was very different than how she usually spoke, incredibly common, but it didn't sound forced. "I've a right to sell flowers if I keep off the curb." Her voice rose in pitch, and became somewhat hysterical. "I'm a respectable girl: so help me, I never spoke to him except to ask him to buy a flower off me." She turned to an invisible third entity and pleaded, "Oh, sir, don't let him charge me. You dunno what it means to me. They'll take away my character and drive me on the streets for speaking to gentlemen. They—"

Greylock cut her off expertly. "There, there, there, there! Who's hurting you, you silly girl? What do you take me for?" His tone was a bit harsher than usual, with perhaps less of his general laid-back flavor, though that was hard to quantify or even qualify, as opposed to Sofia's distinct accent and dialect.

He then held up a hand, fingers bent at a right angle to his palm, the thumb coming up underneath - looking rather like a beak, pointing at Sofia. Out of the side of his mouth, Greylock said, in a lower tone of voice and more prim than the voice she'd just been using, "It's all right: he's a gentleman: look at his boots." Greylock turned the hand to face himself. "She thought you was a copper's nark, sir."

Sofia, still hysterical, said, "I take my Bible oath I never said a word—"

"Oh, shut up, shut up," Greylock said, rolling his eyes and with a rather mean tone, but half-smiling. "Do I _look_ like a policeman?

They went on like this for a little while, doing hand-mouths and slightly different voices where necessary, which was perhaps a bit more often than was really advisable when the intention was to do a dialogue - Sofia hoped it came off as extra enthusiasm for the theatre, rather than as an overbearing show of pride or being superior, or… any number of things.

Not to mention, the choice of roles. Sofia had put work into doing a good Eliza, both this year and when she'd been doing what little community theatre there was available in Dunwiddee. She wondered, however, if anyone - no, _how many_ people, really - thought that she was only good at Eliza because of her origins.

Well, at least she'd get to show them otherwise.

Not right away, though. While she was a bundle of nerves and wanted through with the whole ordeal, honestly, she also appreciated the chance to let her voice rest while Greylock did his monologue bit. _He_ didn't have to put on an accent, so they'd agreed ahead of time this would be the way to do it… Still, Sofia hadn't anticipated this much anxiety.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and other folk," Greylock said from center stage once Sofia had made it to the wings, "I shall present a bit from the farcical tragedy, Cyrano de Bergerac."

Greylock waited a beat, then launched right into his monologue. "What the hell was he going to do? What the _hell_ was he going to do, in that galley?" A sigh. "Philosopher," he ticked out his index finger, "metaphysician," and his middle, making two, "rhymer, brawler, and musician," and counted each in turn on his hand. "Famed for his lunar expedition, and the unnumbered duels he fought,- and lover also,-by interposition!- here lies Hercule Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac, who was everything, yet - was naught."

With a sad smile and a shake of his head, he continued, "I cry you pardon, but I may not stay; see, the moon-ray that comes to call me hence!" Here, he stumbles over to the side of the stage, and leans his back against the edge, and slides down to sitting. His hand goes out, as if to touch something above his now-seated head. "Your veil…" he clarifies. "I would not bid you mourn less faithfully that good, brave Christian." He nods slowly, gravely. "I would only ask - that when my body shall be cold in clay you wear those sable mourning weeds for two, and mourn awhile for me, in mourning him."

Greylock shivered violently, looked around, and seemed to notice the wall behind him. "Not there! What, sitting? No!" He swats the air around him, "Let no one hold me up! Only-" He sags, and puts his hand against the wall again, "the tree."

He breathes heavily for a moment. "It comes," he said, low, barely a stage whisper, "even now, my feet have turned to stone, my hands - are gloved with lead." He looks at the wall, and pushes himself off. "But since Death comes," he says, louder, "I meet him still afoot, and sword in hand!" Greylock had no such sword, but drew his wand in a close approximation.

"Why, I well believe, he dares to mock my nose? Ha! Insolent!" Greylock raised his wand. "What say you? It is useless? Aye, I know. But who fights, ever hoping for success? You there, who are you! - You are thousands!" Greylock smiles suddenly, 'sword'-wand still out. "Ah! I know you now, old enemies of mine! Falsehood!" He strikes in air with his sword. "Have at you! Ha! and Compromise! Prejudice, Treachery!" For each word, he thrusts. "Surrender, I? Parley? No, never! You too, Folly,-you? I know that you will lay me low at last; Let be! Yet I fall fighting, fighting still!" Greylock swipes his wand through the air a few more times, slowly making his way near the edge of the stage again; then stops, breathing heavily, his chest visibly rising and falling with each labored breath, and lowers his wand-sword. "You strip from me the laurel and the rose! Take all! Despite you, there is yet one thing I hold against you all." He narrowed his eyes, and raises his shaking wand-hand. "And when, tonight, I enter His fair courts, and, lowly bowed, sweep with doffed cask the heavens' threshold blue… One thing is left, that, void of stain or smutch, I bear away despite you."

Greylock thrusts again, suddenly, but seizes and drops the wand, letting it to clatter on the wooden stage, and falls back to lean against the wall. "Roxane…" He raises a hand, as if to cup the invisible Roxane's cheek. "'Tis my panache." With that, he crumpled to the floor.

The audience - students, anyway, the judges remained impartial - actually _clapped_. They certainly hadn't done that for the dialogue, though Sofia couldn't be sure if they'd done any such thing for the students ahead of Greylock and herself in line. So technically, it was possible that Sofia had just been _that bad_ in the dialogue, that she was the exception and not Greylock - but no, there wasn't any use in thinking that way. She would, she _had_ done her best. That's all she could do. If they didn't like her, that was… all right. It was okay. It-

Sofia's train of thought was interrupted by Greylock, who, after doing his bows, went to the wing where she was and gently nudged her out. _Well, here goes nothing…_

"Hi, I'm, I'm Sofia Balthazar. And I'll be reciting a speech from Romeo and Juliet."

She cleared her throat, and waited a moment. The judges' and the students' eyes were all on her.

"Rebellious subjects, enemies to peace!" Sofia's voice was surprisingly powerful, though still higher than one might expect of the Prince. "Profaners of this neighbour-stained steel, will they not hear? What, ho!" Sofia's nose wrinkled in disgust. "You men, you _beasts_ , that quench the fire of your pernicious rage with purple fountains issuing from your veins." Sofia glared at the judges. "On pain of _torture_ , from those bloody hands, throw your mistempered weapons to the ground, and hear the sentence of your moved prince."

Sofia released the judges from her glare, and sniffed a mirthless laugh. "Three civil brawls, bred of an…" Sofia shrugged, frowning, "airy word, by thee, old Capulet, and Montague, have _thrice_ disturbed the quiet of our streets, and made Verona's ancient citizens cast by their grave beseeming ornaments, to wield old partisans, in hands as old, cankered with peace, to part your cankered hate." Sofia took a deep breath, perhaps too deep, perhaps breaking character; but she had no more air to speak.

When she spoke again, her voice was low, even, entirely controlled, and again turned her gaze to the judges. "If _ever_ you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace." Sofia looked up, casting a sweeping, disapproving glance over the audience. "For this time, all the rest depart away: you Capulet;" she pointed at nothing on stage, "shall go along with me: and, Montague," and she pointed to a different nothing, "come you this afternoon, to know our further pleasure in this case, to old free town, our common judgment place." She nodded to each nothing, then returned her gaze to the audience.

Loudly, she said, "Once more, on pain of death, all men depart!"

Sofia quickly bowed and ran off stage, straight into Greylock, knocking the air out of him by the suddenness of her hug. She couldn't even tell whether or not there was applause this time, the ringing in her ears was too loud.

Once he recovered his breath Greylock said softly, "Shh, shh. You did _great_ , Sofia," the words reverberating through her head due to contact.

"Thanks," she said into his neck, hoping it wasn't too muffled. She wasn't tearing up, it wasn't _that_ bad, but it was taking an effort not to. At least the students' judgemental eyes couldn't see _this_.

* * *

For once, the one flinging open Cedric's dorm room was not, in fact, Greylock. Cedric was puzzled for a moment how Sofia had even got there, but then well, she was still followed by him. Of course. They had their own life. He didn't need to intru-

Rather suddenly, Sofia was very much in his personal space, bending slightly while standing to be level with his seated face. Her face was inches from his, her somewhat shiny blue eyes too large and too… just too much. "I'm sorry, Cedric. I really am sorry." She reached to grab his hands, but thought better of it, blinked, and seemed to realize her general mistake, too, and backed off.

Cedric swallowed, glancing about in the late afternoon light as if he'd find something to say. On his perch, Wormwood shrugged at his human's gaze. Useless bird. "It's, well, it's irritating to be blown off like that, yes, but I don't see that you needed to come to my quarters about it. Just make sure to warn me, next time." He had to admit it was sweet, though. Well. To himself. Not aloud, of course, never. He was already seen as 'unmanly' enough as it was.

"But I don't want you to stay mad at me. It sucks when you are." She made an over exaggerated pout - or was that redundant? - by sticking out her bottom lip comically far, and using more movement than necessary to cross her arms over her chest, which Cedric pointedly did not look at... though he wasn't sure whether it was the shape or the amulet hidden in the layers of cloth there. Oh, Nephys' Nectarines. ...was probably an accurate comparison…

Not staring. Not. "That isn't going to work on me, princess."

The giggle broke her pouting look. "No fair, calling you 'raven' doesn't work so well. Maybe 'old crow'?" She started to laugh, but saw his face remained unchanged. "Sorry, thought that might lighten the mood. And I know just that won't work, I just wanted to show you how sad I am. I truly don't like it when you're upset... So." Oh dear. Her pouting he could handle, if...only barely... but she looked altogether too conniving for his comfort right now. He closed his eyes and steeled himself-

...That smelled smelled like sugary deliciousness. Cautiously, Cedric opened one eye to see Sofia holding a scone under his nose. He regarded it, and her, for a moment.

"Sorry it's kind of dry and smushed. Well, they're all dry, that's what you get with free snacks I guess." Sofia's smile was faltering, and her hand was starting to recede. "And the squish, well-"

Before she could go too far, Cedric grinned and leaned forward, taking the pastry with his teeth, causing Sofia to jump slightly.

As it turned out, though, this was not the best considered move Cedric had ever taken. He leaned back and the scone slipped out of Sofia's hand, broke off where he held it with his teeth, and landed about a million crumbs in his lap and several large pieces, though a few also fell to the floor. Sofia didn't seem distracted, but she also didn't say anything. Just rather stared at him, biting her lip. Hmph.

"Aww, why don't you ever take my gifts like that, Candystick." Greylock chuckled from the other side of the room.

Both Sofia and Cedric jumped at that. Cedric answered first, even through swallowing the small bite he had in his teeth, cheeks pale as ever but probably still clearly embarrassed. Ugh. "Well, it was just. It was right there. I-" He couldn't think how to continue, so just stopped.

Sofia's face did have more color than usual, so at least he wasn't alone. She had opened her mouth, jaw hanging a bit slack and soft-looking lips round in a slightly squashed 'o', but decided not to answer after all, for whatever reason.

It appeared Clover was out and about. He picked up one of the fallen pieces of scone, oddly reverently, and started eating on it. Not as Cedric had seen Clover eat a few times before, with gusto and general enjoyment, but seemed to be savoring the sensations, going slowly and, just. Oddly. Less as if he were eating it and more as if he were-

Sofia's leg unceremoniously shoved Clover to the side, and her already pink face managed to get even pinker as she laughed nervously.

Greylock smiled and raised an eyebrow, but went back to the book he'd apparently started reading.

"Yes. Well. Thank you, Sofia. What flavor is that?" Cedric had picked up a large piece of the sweet from his lap, in his hand this time, and was trying to knock the crumbs off his robe onto the floor with the other hand.

"I think that one's apple cinnamon, though we spirited a few away with us. A few different flavors should be here." Sofia revealed a canvas sack with an unreasonable amount of pastries within. Behind it, Cedric could see that Clover seemed to have stopped the odd thing with the pastry, finally.

Cedric raised an eyebrow at first Sofia, then angled it over to Greylock on the far side of the room. Greylock said, "What? People were mostly gone, auditions had been over for a while and all. They were going to be thrown away, can't have something like that go to waste. Especially not with a sweet tooth like yours."

Cedric bit his lip and looked in the sack again. "So… what, ah, is the percentage claim here? Do - do I have a share, or is this to be saved for more forgiveness bribery?" He was smiling as he said it, so he hoped they would know it had in fact worked, but still. Good to acknowledge, yes, yes we're all hedonists here. And despots, and whatever else.

Sofia pulled the drawstring of the bag and put it on the bed next to Cedric. "All yours! With minor carrying charges every now and then from Greylock and me, of course." She winked. Oh dear. Was it worth it to accept the pastries?

...Of course it was, who was he kidding. "Well. I, uh." This was awkward. He wasn't used to saying… "Th-thank you. For thinking of me. I do appreciate it."

Sofia started rocking on her heels. "Oh good. I was afraid I'd hurt you bad enough that you'd be moody for a while. So, um, while you're in good spirits, I thought I'd ask…" Oh Ma'at's Melons, this was going to be just fantastic.

After taking a moment to catch her breath, Sofia smiled again and said, "Would you like to get dinner with me at the café?"

Cedric squinted, and his heart started to go a little faster despite his internal insistence that it stop, right now, this instant. ...Okay maybe not stop, but at least act normal. Wormwood shifted on his perch and made a small noise of discontent.

Sofia held her grin, but blinked. Her eyebrows were dropping a bit, that probably wasn't good.

"Sofia, that sounds suspiciously like a date." Greylock huffed a laugh from the other side of the room.

"Nooo," Sofia said, faux-innocently. "It can't be a 'date'. To make it a date, we'd have to put it on the calendar, to be planning for it. To set the date. Let's go right now, I'm hungry and you've got sweets but they aren't getting any staler."

Cedric crossed his arms and chewed his lips as he thought. He looked over to Greylock for some kind of answer, but the other boy seemed to be not paying attention. Not that Greylock actually wasn't paying attention, Cedric felt he knew Greylock too well to think that, but he was doing a good job of pretending like it. Enough that Cedric… did have serious doubts.

He looked back into Sofia's open, honest, caring face. One of the few who'd cared for him unequivocally, with Greylock as perhaps the only other. Finally, Cedric smiled a bit, put his fingers in hers, and said, "Help me up?"

Sofia's smile renewed, and she grasped his fingers and pulled up and back. He was pulled up off the bed, got his feet, ...continued moving forward, ploughed into her, and they both crashed onto the floor.

As Cedric was realizing what sort of position they were in - he was on top of Sofia on the floor oh dear Merlin no, what would she think, what would others think if they saw… As he was thinking that, trying to scramble off her, trying not to put a hand anywhere it shouldn't while scrambling, Greylock snickered from behind his book.

"You two just slay me."


	7. Call Winter Upon Water

Finally, they were , walking along with familiars in tow, and more importantly out of Goodwyn House. It was always something of a relief for Cedric to be out of the damned place. Infernal. Goodwyn the Great, and _terrible._

On the other hand, Cedric was feeling less sure about his decision to go along with this.

"Sooo...fia?" he asked, fidgeting with the dark blue uniform robe he'd _finally_ deigned to wear in the cold weather. Maybe it was just that the robe wasn't as nice as his own favored one. Maybe-

No. He had to sort this out.

Before he managed to speak again, though, Wormwood landed on his shoulder. The raven didn't caw, giving Sofia a sideways glance, but murmured some things even Cedric could barely hear. Not that hearing was strictly necessary, the normal process of communication with Familiars - that was, without Talk to Familiar - was closer to telepathy than speech. Useful, if somewhat imprecise.

Cedric saw himself, sitting on the ground, heartbroken, looking up at a cruelly smirking Sofia, felt the shame and derision of her, and others, laughing at him. _She's playing you for a fool, for the fun of it._

He saw himself and Sofia, older, in the tower he would someday take from his father. She gave him a cup of tea, and took a cup herself, but did not raise it to her lips. He choked on it, and fell to the ground, clutching at his throat. It was bitter, far too bitter for tea, and he recognized the taste of, fittingly, wormwood. _She's using you, your position, your bloodline and the weak place you have in it._

He saw Sofia, hugging him, being friendly - but suddenly she was gone, the warm presence by his side, gone, replaced by nothing but a cold void. He was falling, falling far too long, but he looked up and could still see Sofia, someone else's arms around her, around her neck. She turned around and gave the owner of those arms a passionate kiss. His roommate, his oldest friend, his _only_ other friend. _She's in the thick of some plot to get close to Greylock, and will drop you without a thought the second she's done._

He saw the Sofia and himself sitting at a table, with a cake in the middle. They laughed lightly, each with a half-eaten slice on their plates. Sofia leaned over to wipe a fleck of icing from Cedric's mouth - and underneath Clover got into his bag, found the Family Wand, and took it. _She feeds you sweets, keeps you happy, placated, while she damns you to hell._

Back in reality, Cedric was silent, but otherwise made no signs of his turmoil. _No. She wouldn't. ...Would she?_ He couldn't really think that. Yes, he knew that being conjured from himself, Wormwood was nothing more than a piece of himself. Still, he couldn't… _really_ think that… he _couldn't._

Sofia said, "Yeah, Cedric? What is it?" and brought him out of his reverie.

Cedric steeled himself and finally continued, "What exactly are your _intentions_ this evening?" He looked down at the girl by his side - who hadn't let go of his hand once she'd had it, though he didn't try very hard to wrestle it away. She looked back up at him with clear blue eyes.

"Intentions? I don't know what you mean."

All right, well, so much for not taking his hand back. He started massaging it. "I think you do," he said, nodding pointedly to his hands. Admittedly, after Wormwood's intervention, there were significantly more possibilities than 'this is a date' at the forefront of his mind, but he didn't want to betray his feelings on the matter. He would seem paranoid if they didn't turn out to be true, which would be quite bad enough - but also in case any of them _were_.

Not that that notion of paranoia would be unfounded, apparently.

Sofia laughed, though Cedric could not tell whether it was a dismissive giggle, light genuine amusement, or even nerves. "Honestly, I don't have anything specific planned. Yes, I know, _for once_. I just like hanging out with you, especially when you're feeling up to things like this." Whether he felt up to this anymore or not was in question, honestly. But Cedric didn't mention that aloud.

Instead, he was lost in thought. Did she really have to be coy like this? It would be so much easier if she had just come out and confirmed or denied romantic connotations to this 'not-a-date'. Why had he said that about the sounding like a date, anyway? _Why had he said that?_ It was dumb. He'd been afraid, it sounded too romantic, wanted confirmation he was reading too much into things.

He _was_ reading too much into things. Cedric was always a victim of over-thinking, but this was a bit much. He'd hoped for her to say yes, _yes_ , Cedric I love you and I want to date you. To have this strange infatuation returned, to have it not wasted.

He wanted the feelings to stop, so he could maintain this friendship he'd fallen into by accident, by happy accident, and which would never happen again. He could feel it in his bones. She was wonderful, and kind, and cared about him, but had many other friends, and doubtless suitors. Lovers had spats, had fights, had _big_ fights, broke apart. Friends were more stable, and he needed that.

He needed _more_. Not that friendship wasn't wonderful, deeply soothing in ways he hadn't known until he met Greylock, and even then it was with the prickly barbs of his jokes. He needed intimacy. The physical kind would be nice, but no, the emotional. Maybe people could be emotionally intimate with their friends, with non-romantic partners. Maybe that's all he wanted from Sofia.

...Maybe that's what he already _had_ with Sofia? Then why the over-thinking?

Unaware of any misgivings, aside from Cedric's unease at the idea of a date from earlier, Sofia finally continued, "I like hanging out with you. So I guess my 'intentions' are to have a nice time tonight, and make sure you have one too."

Cedric bit his lip. That...didn't really answer the question he posed to her, but something inside him, that had been bending further and further - no, it didn't snap, but it started to splinter. His lips curled into a small smile around his teeth.

"Well, ah. Good to hear Sofia." Perfect response. "And it looks like we're here."

The eatery wasn't very large, or very nice, or very well priced, and it didn't accept student meal plans. But it did allow interyear, interhouse, coed dining, wasn't restricted to students, the tables were cozier, and the food was... _somewhat_ better.

They didn't talk much while in line, focusing on what they were wanting to get. When they finally reached the counter to order, Cedric stepped up and asked Sofia, "What is it you want, then?"

Sofia answered, "Hmm, I guess I'll probably be getting the veggie burger, chips, and malt."

Cedric nodded, asked the clerk if they'd gotten that, and added his own order of fish 'n' chips, 'n' crisps for the hell of it, and _tried_ to order a glass of wine, but the café was 'fresh out', so settled for tea.

"How very Enchancian of you, Cedric," said Sofia lightly, eyebrow raised but smiling, "those stereoty- _hey._ Wait just a tick-tock. What are you doing ordering mine?" The grimace growing on her face looked very real.

"Whatever this excursion _is_ or _is not_ ," Cedric started quickly, "I wanted to pay. I knew you'd refuse if I asked. So I took the initiative." There. She should like that, shouldn't she? That's largely what _she_ did with _him_. As for the reason, well, it was practical. She wouldn't accept being paid for just because he has more money sitting around, but that's all it was. So, well, he _had_ to disguise that, right? This wasn't about it being a not-date. Even his interest in Sofia's funds were purely practical, of course. _Of course._ If she ran out of funds to keep her happy and healthy, she would run out of grades, out of scholarship, and he would run out of...student? Tut-ee? What was the inverse of the word 'tutor' anyway?

Sofia did smile, she did laugh and accept his explanation as the truth. And technically, it _was_ the truth. ...Perhaps more than just 'technically'.

"And anyhow," he added at once they finally sat down at a small table to eat, "I didn't get the stereotypical Earl Grey tea. _Someone_ has made too many jokes about it, and besides it tastes like dirt. I prefer a witch's brew of ingredients, but I _guess_ darjeeling will have to do." He stopped speaking, blinked, and added, "And anyhow, Sofia, aren't _you_ also from Enchancia?"

Sofia laughed and nodded. "Not blood-tied, but yeah, I lived in a village called Dunwiddee for a while. And it was hardly stereotypical at all."

"Yes, well. The _royals_ do like their stereotypes." Cedric huffed and took a bite of his fish.

Apparently the hint to _stow it_ had been received, as Sofia asked no more. It was hard to say how much she knew of his family, of his bloodline and his status within it, but he didn't want to talk about it _ever_ , let alone what might otherwise be a really nice evening.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, until Sofia asked, "So, how is your thesis coming?"

"Ah, yes, it's… going. It's rather hard to-" Cedric stopped suddenly and blinked.

His thesis on artefacts was why Cedric had had the book, had known the signs, to recognize the Amulet. Which would have been fine and dandy, if knowing what he knew about it, and knowing that the artefact was, sometimes literally, _just within reach_ , hadn't consumed him with envy and less than noble ideas. Even now, it lurked under her blouse and blazer.

Sofia looked at him oddly, and he realized he'd stopped in the middle of a sentence. "It, well, you know how it goes! Lots of research! It's slow going, and not very interesting really. You know whose thesis _is_ interesting, though? A girl in my year, uh, Calem or something? She's doing hers under, ah, Professor Layton's friend. Sycamore? The dandy from Kalos, Life Sciences professor. It's half-experiment, really, something about connection to Mithril - you know, what most magical artefacts are made from - and Familiars. More than one with their use, specially tempered bits that can make them stronger, do more things, do their own magic - that's interesting, right?" Cedric had only ever listened to the

girl's talk about her own project because the animal aspect seemed like it might interest Sofia, and well, when he was trying to deflect interest from his own work, this was the perfect time to bring that up, right?

"Really? That does sound really cool." She looked to the side and nodded her head thoughtfully. "I'll have to ask Layton if he knows who you mean after history. I still can't believe I had his name wrong for several months."

Cedric just gave her a pointed look, to which Sofia said, "Hey! That was only _one_ month." She pouted dramatically at him, and he couldn't help but laugh, but that died down when she continued, "But what was that about Mithril? I didn't know there was any specific material for magic stuff."

Lurline's Lemons, she was determined. "I don't know much about it myself, really. Not my field. ...Maybe I ought to change my Advising professor to Layton, I suppose I'm in something like Archeology?" ... _Wait._ He was supposed to be moving _away_ from his subject until he could think of a good cover.

"But yes, as, ah, I recall," Cedric started again, "that's why the student and professor are collaborating. Her interest is magic as it relates to geology. So largely Mithril, though other rocks too, probably. Her advisor had the theory about the Mithril and Familiars, but wasn't able to complete much research on his own for… _whatever_ reason?" Cedric shrugged. "Rather odd, I thought, that he'd go to a student rather than a fellow professor or sorcerer for help with that, but their whole relationship is-" He stopped talking as he realized he was getting heavily into gossip territory.

"Point is," he said, recovering after a moment, "as far as rocks go, I know enough to know which ones I should use in my potions, and a few different names for the same thing when it comes to common ingredients." He then took a large bite of his fish and chewed slowly, to use the time to think of a quick cover for his thesis, a lie he could build on later.

Throughout all this, Sofia listened intently, nodding occasionally, her bright blue eyes rarely leaving his, at least as far as he could tell while looking nearly anywhere but. It wasn't anything against _her_ , and he was sure her eyes were lovely… when they were looking anywhere else. Often it was an issue of attention, his thing with eye contact, but he _wanted_ Sofia's attention.

Well, not right now, actually. He'd like to sort out a good lie to tell her regarding his thesis first, or manage to actually get off the topic.

Aside from that, though, he liked when she listened to what she said, it was just _better_ if she was following along in a book, or doodling, or occupying her hands and her eyes _some_ how that wasn't at him. Oh well. At least she didn't begrudge him for not returning the eye contact… _Unless she did._ She might, and just not say anything. She might say something to Greylock, in the form of mockery, they'd laugh about it. _Ugh_ , no, probably not. That was unreasonable.

And it's not like he never made eye contact, he'd had the habit of avoiding it whenever possible yelled out of him by enough professors. Still, it was uncomfortable, and harder to deal with when he was already uncomfortable.

Or feeling guilty.

...None of this was helping him craft that lie. Cedric finally swallowed his bite, and asked, "So, then, Sofia. How are _your_ studies coming along? - Don't answer me as if we're in the study tower, that's not how I mean. Thoughts, favorite bits, whatever strikes your fancy to talk about." Okay, good. That actually came out rather calm, and should entirely redirect, rather than just poorly deflecting as before.

Sofia shrugged lightly. "Pretty good, I guess," she said. "I mean, as well as can be expected? I'm still having to work a lot to not just keep up with this year's studies, but _also_ learn all the remedial things. I almost wish I'd been placed a few years behind, but I can't imagine that would make me any more popular, eheh."

Cedric's eyes knitted as he tilted his head to one side. "I thought you rather were popular, though? You seem to have plenty of friends." _At least comparatively if nothing else._

With a sigh, Sofia answered, "Well, I certainly _try_. And usually people don't get in my face directly, a kind face helps, but… Mostly I'm just, I fake it 'til I make it. Haha… No, I'm pretty _acutely_ aware of how far behind I am, and from what I can tell, a lot of my classmates are too." She heaved another sigh. "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you."

Cedric knew that was in terms of his being her tutor, but it still felt very heartwarming. Of course, he managed to show this perfectly via blushing and spluttering a bit. "Well, I, uh," he said, trying to smile but keeping his eyes steadfastly away from hers, from her general direction even. "That's, I'm, well. It's good that I am here, then, as… your tutor. Yes. Good." _Wonderful._

Sofia giggled, and Cedric turned even redder. Of course she'd join the mockery some time, now as just as good a time as any. On the other hand, that was probably better than her praising him while he was still feeling guilty about what thoughts he'd been entertaining.

"I'm gonna stick yo you even after I don't _need_ you anymore, of course," she said, and that was - well, worse and better. Of course she wouldn't need to see him for tutoring sessions eventually. She would catch up, she would stop seeing him, it… She _just said_ she wouldn't. He wouldn't even have that chance to get rid of her.

On the other hand, that's assuming she caught up well enough to everyone's satisfaction by the end of the school year next summer. After that, he would be gone, regardless of anyone's progress. ... _Hopefully._ Probably! He had issues, he wasn't doing as well as he ought in his studies as he ought, and there were looming NEWTs, but he knew that the fear of failing those was probably just anxiety. He had trouble, but when push came to shove, he usually pulled through.

Which would mean that Sofia would be gone from his life for good in not very many months. Thank Ouranos! What an awful thought. The wonderful, awful, beautiful energy-sapping fun-giving girl.

"Ceeedric? Are you all right?" Her voice cut through his thoughts.

"Oh, yes, fine! Just, ah, thinking." Technically accurate.

"...I don't _have_ to be your friend, stick around after I don't need tutoring, if you don't want. If I'm that much of a bother." She gave a small sideways frown. "I can stop asking you to hang out if you want. I mean, if you just feel like you've been bullied into this, and only bear with me so I won't, I don't know, _whine_ too much during tutoring sessions."

Cedric's face fell. "No, no! I'm - well, I'm… _aware_ I'm not the most steadfast when it comes to what I want to do… Something of a pushover, when it comes to you." Wait. Merlin's Mushroom that sounded almost romantic, sod it. " _However._ I still _am_ capable of saying no, as it happens. I… I suppose there are things I'd _rather_ not do, and then things I _won't_. With you, those 'rather nots' do have a tendency to become 'that was fun, actually's." _No that still sounded romantic, what was he doing._ "To be entirely honest, yes, you are higher energy than I might have picked for myself in a friend. That does _not_ mean that I find you irritating, that I want you gone." ...He was _intending_ to lie, to mollify her, partially for the exact reasons she feared. But now that he said it aloud, he felt the words were truer than he thought.

He'd never been liked much, had much of anyone to talk to and be with, to share time with outside of classes. He'd had a few roommates over the years, shuffled first because he didn't get along and then after - well, after a certain turning point he didn't like to think about much, when things occasionally got violent… He gulped to himself and pushed his thoughts away. Now he had Greylock, irritatingly cheerful but by far the best student he'd roomed with, and Sofia, gratingly optimistic. And both seemed to care for specifically him. Not… not _only_ him, but not having more than a few friends was rare, he could hardly blame them for that.

Sofia smiled at his words, and though he knew it couldn't possibly be true, Cedric felt like that radiant smile was also directed at his train of thought. "Thank you, that's good to hear. Even the criticism. I'll try to go easy around you, I do anyway, but I'll try harder."

Cedric smiled, and finally met her eye. "Thank you," he said. "I'd appreciate that.." Hmm. So, then, Sofia. I know I'm more the _delicate flower_ in the relationship-" _Why did he keep using romantic language._ "-the frienship between us, but I suppose I still ought to ask - is there anything I can do to better suit _you_? I - I make no guarantees I'll _do_ as much. Still, I might. _Attempt_." There. Proper emotional distance achieved via snark.

Sofia pursed her lips as if kissing the air as she thought. _Stop it, Cedric._ "I… don't think so. No one's perfect, admittedly, but to me you're prefect as you are. And I'm not as easily bothered by things as you are." She blinked and put a hand over her mouth. "...I'm sorry, that came out badly. I didn't mean it like that. Just, well, I've got pretty thick skin, from living in Dunwiddee and all. And you, well." She took a breath. "Sorry."

It… did sting, admittedly, but he also had to admit she was _right._ "It's not a problem, Sofia," he said, in a voice more sullen than he intended. "I know what you intend to say." He sighed, then looked up with a pasted-on smile. "At least I don't have to put in any extra effort!" he said, too cheerfully. Sofia laughed, but didn't seem entirely mirthful either.

They ate in silence a bit more. Sofia fed some of her food to Clover, which was silly, Cedric thought. Familiars are just a figment of the self, but not physically attached. It might feel good to indulge in their physical "needs", but they didn't _need_ anything aside from their caster's mana, but food fed to them would absolutely disappear. ...Maybe he should ask that Sycamore about how that even worked. Of course, this was just a passing interest, not an actual investment.

Wormwood landed on his shoulder again, and showed him the last scene from his thoughts earlier - where Sofia fed him sweets, but the imaginary view focused in on Clover stealing the Wand.

Cedric glared sideways at his raven. "I haven't even _got_ the Family Wand, you nincompoop," Cedric mumbled to himself. And Wormwood, but that was still _technically_ himself. Heh.

"What was that?" Sofia asked.

"Oh, nothing, nothing!" Cedric shoved Wormwood off his shoulder, who protested with a caw. "Just trying to get Wormwood to stop bothering me." All sorts of technical-truths seemed to be spilling from him today.

Cedric looked around for an explanation, and found the food in front of him. He shoved one of the last of his chips toward the raven's mouth, saying, "There, if I give you some of these, will you leave me alone?" The raven actually did take the chips into his mouth and flew to perch on one of the support beams for the café.

Not much later, Sofia said, "Well. I'm done. Any idea how long you'll be, Cedric?"

He looked down at his food, poking at his last strip of fish. "I suppose I'm not very hungry, I can't seem to bring myself to eat this." He wrapped the fish and his last few chips in the newsprint they were served on, and crumpled that into a ball.

Wax paper and newsprint wrappers discarded, Sofia and Cedric left the café and started to just amble around the grounds. The light was getting dimmer, oranger, slanting.

Cedric broke the companionable silence. "Do you mind, Sofia, if I ask how it is you came to own your, ah. Costu...no. Fam...no, not that either. Er… A Certain Possession."

Sofia giggled at Cedric's halting speech, or at least he assumed it was that, but kindly, it seemed. She answered, "No, I don't mind, though it's not particularly _easy_." She sighed and looked around the courtyard they were in. Not the one with the clock tower, that was over to the west, this place only had a small fountain for decoration. It was still warm enough to leave water running, apparently, or perhaps just that no one had gotten around to winterizing it yet.

Sofia led Cedric in the direction of the fountain, and sat on the generous ledge. She took a breath, and began. "My father, a fisherman, found it and gave it to me. His story is that it came up with a netful of fish, and that it was so beautiful I ought to have it."

Cedric nodded. "That does make sense. Its last known location was 'lost at sea', according to my research on various artefacts. ...So why do I hear a ' _but_ ' somewhere in there."

With a weak chuckle, Sofia answered, " _But_ , if he found it honestly, why did he give it to me? Why didn't he sell it? We were making living then, with him working his trade and Mom working hers. It was _decent_ , by our standards, but it wasn't very _good_ , even then."

"I see what you mean," Cedric said, "at least partially. I think. What point are you leading to, though?"

"Honestly?" Sofia looked up at him with somewhat teary eyes. Oh. Oh no. These weren't even manipulative eyes, this was genuine heartache. What on Gaia's green earth was he supposed to do with _that_.

She let out a breath and turned to face away from him. Oh no he'd blown it. "I think he was a pirate. I don't know if mom knew, suspected, or was in the dark."

Cedric took a moment to collect his thoughts and respond. "While I don't necessarily agree to jumping to the conclusion that he was a pirate, the evidence given about the Amulet in my notes can't contradict that theory - though of course, there's always the possibility my sources are just _wrong_. It's, it's happened before."

With a nod, Sofia continued, "Well, there are two understandable reasons my father could or would have given _me_ the stone, rather than sell it, _were_ he a pirate who had stolen the amulet."

She took a breath, and it hitched a little. "One: The Amulet was too widely known and and recognizable to be able to sell. This is probably true regardless of if the other is or not, assuming the pirate thing is right in the first place. And two: he had plenty of _other_ plundered treasures to sell, and so one little amulet was hardly worth the trouble."

Cedric tilted his head. "Now, if that were true, wouldn't you have been living considerably better?"

"I can see _you've_ never fenced anything, Cedric." Sofia's gaze was… intense, but intensely _what_ Cedric could not say. "I haven't either, honestly. But I had enough friends…" Cedric had never thought of her optimism in that light. Young sorceresses and such, whose lives were guaranteed save for major political upheaval, could afford to be optimistic with little cost. Cedric hadn't ever separated those sort from her actual origins in his mind, before.

Sofia took another shaky breath. "When you sell stolen goods, you have to lower the price _a lot_ to get them to move. Being obtained at no cost, or cost of transportation, this still works out to a profit for the thief, but it's not exactly _glamorous._ " A pause, then, "Though I suppose there's the possibility he squirreled enough away from decent turnaround, and that I'm _not_ here entirely on scholarship. Though I suppose I'll never know for sure." She sighed. "Friends who steal to eat is one thing, but a _pirate_? I… I always thought so _highly_ of him, and so did Mom. And I _of_ Mom. Did she know? How could she condone that? _Murder?_ He _had_ to have. Not just the theft beyond, _way_ beyond what is necessary to survive - which is such a gray area _anyway_ , but we were doing well enough. Even after he died, we did well enough, and…"

Cedric's mouth pinched to one side as he thought for a moment. "Your father died? How?"

Sofia looked at him oddly, probably with irritation? "Cedric, that is not relevant or helpful right now."

Not good, but… "Helpful I don't know, but I _do_ wonder if it might be relevant. Did you know anything about the amulet's name, its history, its workings beyond what you've experienced yourself?"

"...Nooo. Is there something you're not telling me?"

Cedric intoned the rhyme he'd looked at for… oh, too long. " _With each deed performed, for better or worse, a power is granted, a blessing or curse."_

Sofia's eyes widened, but didn't show any other signs of shock. "I guess I knew that. It likes some things, not others. But… it never occurred to me that _it_ could be…" She apparently couldn't finish the sentence. Not that she needed to.

"Sofia, would…" Cedric gulped as she stared at him, significantly more teary than before, and a little runny of the nose too, but still able to look tense about what new horror he might bring up. What an awful date. _Not-date._ Well, he could… he couldn't fix the situation, not even remotely, but he could at least maybe make her feel a bit better. "Would you like a hug?"

Her face lost the wary reticence, and she was very quickly wrapping herself around him, curling up next to him, crying and sniffling and probably drooling a bit into the crook of his neck.

It was very strange. Not pleasant, but not especially _un_ pleasant, either. He couldn't imagine how this helped, his thin arms snaking their way around her back, and occasionally a hand patted while he said "There, there." It seemed to.

Maybe, next time he was… No, no, when he was upset he was even _worse_ with touch, not more okay with it, let alone _needing_ it.

Eventually, Sofia pulled away, though not entirely. When she was face to face with the marks she'd left on the collar of Cedric's robe, she winced and grinned. "Oops?" she said, and chuckled weakly. She sighed, then, and said, "I needed that, thank you."

 _Only because I drove you to it,_ Cedric didn't say. She had to be thinking it too, he knew it, and mentally thanked her for not humiliating him like that.

Her hands had come unclutched from his sides, though they trailed away very slowly. "Cedric, can I… ask _you_ something?"

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "Yes, you clearly _can_ , you just did. And whether or not you _may_ is irrelevant, as you must potentially violate the answer to find it out."

Oh good, she was laughing. He hadn't been sure if that was going to backfire. Once she finished, she took a deep breath… held it for a moment… and finally asked, "Cedric, _may_ I kiss you?"

She what.

Sofia asked him _what_.

That was idle, inappropriate fantasy, _wasn't_ it?

His eyes went down to the Princess. Vulnerable, still hurting, close, so close. Even Cedric could tell she… _probably_ … wasn't trying to play a cruel joke. He couldn't rule it out entirely, but it was incredibly unlikely.

His eyes went up, up to the empty courtyard, the golden strings of light laced throughout the air, the faint shaking of dust off the buildings from the vibrations, the setting sun glinting off the windows. Back down to Sofia, her eyes sparkling like the fountain in the late afternoon light. He gripped her tighter as he felt his pulse quicken, his breathing hitch.

"Please do," he said, what he intended to be softly but feared came out more as weakly.

And then her lips were on his, and she was hugging him tightly, too tightly, but it was all right. He could barely breathe, he could barely think, she actually… She felt…

The kiss was deep, and felt very intimate, and passionate for sure, but not sexual. Neither side had roaming hands, they just clasped each other as their mouths - and admittedly tongues, being teenagers - met each other.

They broke the kiss after what felt like forever, yet was gone too soon. Sofia tried to put her face in the crook of Cedric's neck again, but found it was still damp from earlier. She laughed, and scooted over to use the other shoulder.

Cedric still couldn't believe this was happening. Hadn't he only last week or so been dreading she felt this way? But then, perhaps that had always been him rationalizing, projecting, trying to tell himself that _she_ was the problem here. And even then, even in those worries, he'd never really quite believed it. It was morbidly fascinating to think about, when he'd still been convinced he had no such feelings of his own. How would it feel if someone had a crush, on _him_? Mortifying, awkward, terrible, friendship-breaking, he'd assumed. He'd worried, as he always did, but only as much as on any other technical possibility he knew was incredibly unlikely to unfold as he imagined.

Well, he supposed this hadn't unfolded _as he imagined_ , anyway.

He stared at her, not _quite_ meeting her eyes, his nerves so wracked he felt like the ground was shaking beneath him.

"Are you all right?" Sofia asked. "You don't look entirely well. Sorry, I didn't mean for that to last that long." She started shifting out of his lap, and Cedric pulled her - well, okay, he didn't manage to pull her anywhere, but he clung tighter around her sides and leaned forward, kissing her again. The sensation of it was so odd, so slimy and strange around his lips and his tongue, but not itself unpleasant. And her little squeak of surprise, the pressure as she leaned forward again and kissed him back… He couldn't do this forever as he'd be far too light-headed, and he needed to eat and sleep some time. But in a _figurative_ sense, he didn't want it to stop.

At this point in his reverie, the vibrations through the ground got large enough that the two noticed them. Definitely, actually shaking, not just his nerves, not his imagination. There were ripples going through the water in the fountain, and each set was accompanied by a low _whump_. Each set? It wasn't a steady, mechanical vibration, which implied…

Cedric immediately went into panic mode. "There's no quick cover around here. We don't know what this is, so the fountain isn't necessarily safe. It, it's, it's probably a beast of some kind, with these periodic vibrations, but we don't know what magic _it_ could have. We, we need-"

* * *

Sofia cut off his nervous rambling by pushing them both into the fountain. She pressed his chest lightly to keep him down below the rim of the fountain, but she peeked over to find the largest bug she'd ever seen. It looked like some kind of beetle, blue-black in color, and about thirty feet tall. Honestly, it was a wonder they hadn't _seen_ it coming, though she supposed they _had_ been rather distracted. By… a few things.

Before she could climb out of the fountain to talk to the poor thing, a pair of voices came into hearing. "Finally! Come on, just cooperate, will you?" That was a young man's voice, probably a student.

"Gotcha now, mister wogglebug! Grappling hook!" was _definitely_ Mabel. So the Pines had it under control, good to know. All the same, Sofia tried to get out of the fountain and see if she could help - falling into it had probably not been her wisest decision ever - but, again, before she could do much, the insect was being shrunk down.

"No! Please! You see, I am not just Highly Magnified, but Thoroughly Educated! Don't make me the same size as an average bug again, please…" It was noticeably smaller than before, though not significantly, or likely to cause less damage.

Clover said from by her feet, "Well, maybe not other bugs, but he's _gotta_ be made at least _a lot_ smaller. Look - _look_ what he did to that building just by knocking against it!" Notable pieces of masonry littered the ground around the shrinking bug, and correlating dents in buildings. It was now about as long as a horse and carriage.

Under the words, Sofia could hear the screeching, clicks and clacks that were surely all the twins heard. Wormwood, flapping in the fountain and trying to get his human out, cleared his beak of robe for a moment to caw, "Will someone stop that infernal racket!" The bug was the size of just the horse, no carriage, now.

"Mabel, no! Please stop, or Dipper, whoever's doing the thing." The shrinking seemed to be slowing down, but it was still already the size of a dog, large quickly shifting into medium.

"Ooo...kay." Dipper dispelled his witchlight, and grabbed a crystal out of the air. The bug finally stopped shrinking.

Sofia couldn't just talk to him, not with these two here. Especially not Dipper. She had no idea if he would or would not be interested in her Amulet, but she didn't want to find out.

Her other option was a bubble, which she used to corral and levitate the creature. She was glad that her wand wasn't ruined from the dousing, she hadn't even thought of the possibility until she used it.

"All right, so _why_ do you want a big bug?" Dipper asked, perhaps more confrontational than he intended to sound.

"And _why_ are you all _WET_?" Mabel added.

"Well, you _seeee…_ " Sofia stalled for time to think of an excuse, but luckily, Cedric made his way to the scene at that moment. Also dripping wet.

"That's perfect for my project, actually," he said, and Sofia nodded, trying to play along. "Perhaps a bit small now, though. Any chance we could get one of those crystals you're using?" She wasn't sure that was necessary, but if it was part of the cover, it made sense. ...And, well, maybe this Mister Wogglebug or whatever could be a _bit_ smaller.

Dipper shook his head in apology."No, this was mailed to us by our Grunkle. I don't know where in the world... _s_... he got it."

"Wow, nice going Sof! Question: redacted." Mabel smiled at Sofia, and didn't seem to have any malice whatsoever. Not that malice was characteristic of Mabel, just… Hexly Halls in general.

So Sofia laughed, if a bit nervously, and said, "Uh, thanks, Mabel." Cedric didn't seem to understand, at least, Sofia didn't think he'd appreciate...any of that. Though Sofia didn't know that Mabel could recognize Cedric on sight.

"Well," Cedric started, "I suppose I'd better ought to get this to my lab space. You can go, now, the two of you. I've got this under control."

Dipper didn't look very sure, but Mabel managed to drag him away - both literally and figuratively, through platitudes of "Dipper, it's _FINE_. He's, like, a million years older than us. I used to think he was a professor, even!" Now hey, that wasn't fair, his bangs were magic, not… but that was just Mabel's way, wasn't it. She didn't _mean_ any harm.

Sofia turned back to face Cedric, who, happily enough, didn't look too upset by the remark, just wet.

When the twins were out of sight and, hopefully, earshot, he asked, "So, I presume you were saving this thing due to something it said?"

Sofia nodded. "He was pleading, _begging_ not to be shrunk down, at least so much." She turned to face the bug. "Are you good as you are, uh…"

The bug, within her lavender bubble, answered, "Yes, I shall get along just fine like this. Much better, I do believe, than I had as that monstrous display before. Still, I'd rather be that than crunched beneath your feet."

Sofia nodded at all this. "If I let you go, will you promise to stay away from the school? I don't care where you _do_ go, just leave here. Everyone here would try to put you back to rights, and probably succeed, but…" She was realizing as she spoke that there didn't seem to be a good option for the bug, he'd just be killed anywhere else. "Maybe just stick to the forest?"

"But you are the only one who's spoken to me! How can a bug as Thoroughly Educated as me be content just to eat all day, no one to talk to, to share my thoughts with?"

Sofia sighed. "I'll think of something. Hang on tight until then. I'll go into the west part of the forest, the bit where…" Sofia went on to describe a specific spot, and how to find it. "Check… mornings, 6 am. You'll know when the clocktower bells ring six times in a row. If I'm not there on the dot, I won't be there at all. I might be early, though."

Finally, Sofia felt secure enough to let the bug go, and it buzzed into the middle distance.

"All that, for a bug." Cedric was shaking his head.

"Absolutely," said Sofia. "And thank you for saving me, that was so sweet, I could kiss you. ...Again." She giggled, a bit light-headed at the memory. "I'm still sorry about getting your robe all teary and...snotty probably."

"Yes, well, I'm rather more uncomfortable with the water from the fountain." Cedric wrung out some water from his robe for effect… and also because it actually needed to be done. He was shivering, probably had been for a while.

She was too, she realized. Of course they were, it was chilly enough to need their robes outside even while dry. They'd need to get inside, get dry before very long. At least she had some insulation, whereas Cedric was...wobbling. Very worryingly wobbling.

Sofia barely managed to catch him as he fell, and even then the best she did was slow his descent, not stop it. At least he didn't crack his skull on the concrete. Somewhere above, Wormwood poofed out of existence, and his rock reappeared in Cedric's pocket. That was good, at least.

Clover ran off somewhere as Sofia struggled to get her other arm under Cedric's knees and lift him up. He was...surprisingly heavy, for as thin as he was. Part of that was undoubtedly the fact that he was soaking wet, but even that didn't account for all of it. Nor could she use that to her advantage, because even _if_ that wouldn't be indecent in a few different ways, she would still have to carry the clothes with her. ...Though, that was on _her_ budget. Cedric had mentioned a few times that money was - well, not _no_ object, but far from a concern.

Sofia slumped down, more heavily than she intended, possibly adding a bruise to Cedric's backside. _Sorry._ She set him the rest of the way down on the paving stones gently, and worked off the worst offender: the wool cloak. She tried to kick it to the side, but it decided to be a wet blanket and not move. That is, it was literally a wet blanket that had sleeves.

 _Now is not the time for levity._ Levitation, maybe, but she'd just proved early that afternoon that that was a _very bad idea._ She shucked off her own robe as well, and left it on top of Cedric's, then struggled upright again. Her right arm cupped Cedric's back, and his head lolled backward, slack, jostled by each movement she made. His lips had a definite bluish tinge to them. Sofia's left arm supported his lower half by way of his knees, and his feet flopped. He was dead weight.

...Hopefully only metaphorically. Oh no, no no _no,_ did he have some sort of condition? For the few months she had known him, Cedric never came off as a beacon of health, but she'd assumed that was poor sleep habits and anxiety. But this was - this wasn't normal, was it? She was used to dealing with the cold, she was better equipped to handle it, so it was no wonder she was doing better than him - but that was a few minutes at _most_. And yet, here he was.

She had barely made it out of the courtyard when she couldn't walk like that any longer, no matter how she tried, and ended up crumpling to her knees in the dying light.

All right, well. _That_ wasn't working. No time to dwell. This was too front-heavy and straining on her arms. Right, right, Sofia had been filled with images of romance - both the 'romantic love' kind as well as romantic _stories_ , of action and heroes saving their damsels in distress. But no. No, she needed to be more practical. Treat Cedric as if he were a sack of potatoes or the like. Not… not the rough handling, just that she needed to be _pragmatic_.

So she put her hands under Cedric's armpits and hauled him over her shoulder, too worried to be embarrassed that she needed to handle his rump to get him into position.

...It was still slow going. She had no idea how bad his condition was, if time was of the essence or if she was overreacting. He might be fine. _He might not._

Soon, though, a figure appeared, carrying a lantern, something hopping at its feet - "Greylock! Help, Cedric, he, we-" She couldn't explain, she was too out of breath. "Hospital wing, carry," she finally managed, and he obliged.

She'd only meant for him to _help_ carry, but he took Cedric on his own shoulder without hesitation, and Sofia didn't have the energy to stop him. He then grabbed her hand, and - well, it couldn't really be called running, not with dead weight on one side and a half-cooperative dragged weight on the other, but Greylock wasn't stalling. at any rate.

Even in the near darkness, with some of the school's lampposts still not lit, Greylock seemed to know his way around the grounds, as they were at the hospital wing of the school in not very long at all. Or was it? It felt so long, wanting to hurry, make him better, _fix her mistake_.

Inside, the nurses asked questions about his state, and since Cedric could not answer for himself, the task turned to Sofia. She knew it wasn't an interrogation, that they didn't think it was her fault - _it was, though_ \- and that she had to answer as truthfully as...well, as mattered. That she'd pushed him in, them both in, wasn't important. That he'd, they'd, been kissing moment before she pushed them in, _wasn't important._ ...Probably? The wogglebug thing happened, at least, so at least she could relay heightened emotions and what effect that might have on physiognomy without giving herself away.

Not that the nurses cared about who kissed who, but… Would Greylock?

On the other hand, Greylock was probably her closest friend, aside from Cedric. ...Or did Cedric not count, if they were dating? ... _Could_ they be considered dating? At any rate, she didn't feel right lying to Greylock, and certainly no one else she was willing to admit her guilt to, were they even in a position to understand much.

After Cedric was put up, and the nurses finished questioning Sofia, one turned back around on he and bustled her into the bathroom with a dry change of clothes. "You're going to catch your death too, if you don't change, missy!" The clothes weren't terribly well-fitting, a bit long and baggy, not to mention the fact that they were a stranger's clothes, but they fulfilled their function.

Once the nurses left the students alone in the lobby, Sofia said, "It's _my_ fault he's here, Greylock. Like this."

Greylock shook his head gently. "I know it feels like it is, like you could have prevented-"

" _No._ " Sofia spoke a little more loudly than she intended, then walked over to Greylock to hug him. Next to his ear, she said, "I couldn't think what else to do, my head was still spinning from-" ...She'd tell him about the kiss, but in a moment. "From what we'd been saying, and then we realized someone's spell had gone wrong, that something magical was headed toward us. I mean, that's not usually a big deal, but this sounded _big_ , and we had no place to hide, only the fountain. Cedric was too scared to do anything, so, I just. _Sploosh._ And now, because of me, he-"

...Carelessness that caused harm, especially of this scale, should have been enough to trip the Amulet. Helping the wogglebug shouldn't have done anything to nullify such a curse, either; the amulet had only ever decursed her when she had fixed the problem that gave her the curse in the first place.

 _That_ definitely had to wait until later, though. Greylock - probably could know. That was probably safe. But the more people knew, the more likely it was to get out, the more she'd have to worry, or not keep it with he for fear of it being taken, and… Later, _maybe_.

For now, though, she said, "He's like _this_. Because of me. And the thing wasn't even dangerous, just too big and too clumsy."

Greylock's strong arms gripped her back and held her as she held him. "You did what you thought you needed to, Sofia," he said. "You did the best you could, and when when you realized you couldn't do it alone, sent for me, and now we're _here_ , and he's going to be _all right._ "

Sofia pulled back to look at him. "I did... _what_? No, I just. I wasn't thinking very well, all I could do was try to drag him. ...I could have just shouted for help, even. It's not like we were in the middle of nowhere. Someone was bound to be somewhere, close enough to hear." She pulled away from Greylock entirely, sat down heavily on one of the chairs in the waiting room, and put her face in her hands.

Greylock sat down next to her, put a hand on her shoulder, and leaned forward to try to look at her face. "Clover found me. _You_ came and found me, whether you thought about it or not."

Sofia lifted her face slightly out of her hands and looked sideways at Greylock. She didn't know if he could see her small smile from that angle, but it didn't matter. More importantly, she moved to put a hand over the one Greylock had on her shoulder, and gave it a light squeeze.

Even with her new, dry clothes, Sofia started shivering again at some point, and Greylock took off his robe and draped it over her. It was significantly too broad in the shoulders, but it fit and felt far better than the borrowed clothes. She nodded her thanks to him.

They sat in silence for some time. It was hard to say how long, ever since Cedric collapsed, Sofia couldn't seem to make sense of time anymore. Nurses and eventually a doctor came and went, though at least they didn't seem particularly frantic.

Eventually, she sighed. Time for confession number two. Honestly, it probably _should_ wait, but Sofia had a feeling that if she put off telling Greylock now, she'd keep it from him until it turned into something big, something nasty that broke their friendship - not to mention, his and Cedric's - into pieces.

"There's something _else_ I need to tell you, too." Sofia didn't look at him this time, though she could feel his eyes on her. "It's true that he was scared by the approaching danger, harmless as it turned out to be. Before that, though, he and I _kissed_. ...I don't know if it will happen again, honestly, especially not with _this._ " She gestured to the door behind which Cedric lay. "But I thought you should know."

"Congratulations," Greylock said softly. Sofia finally looked at him, and he seemed… okay- _ish_. Perhaps sad, thinking he'd become a third wheel to a couple, but Sofia would never let that happen. On the other hand, he might be genuinely happy for them, with no reservations, aside from the fact that Cedric was currently mysteriously ill.

Or _was_ it mysterious? "Does Cedric, that you know of, have any kind of _condition_ that might cause this?"

Greylock shrugged. "Cedric keeps his health to himself. I do think he has _some_ thing, though that's not based on anything but his behavior. If I did know, though, I don't think I'd tell you unless his life was in danger or he gave the go-ahead."

Sofia nodded. That was fair. "I wish I knew his _boundaries_ , though. What to do in case something happens. I know there's his no-touching thing, but now I'm wondering what _else_ there might be." She sighed. "I don't want to feel like I'm walking on eggshells with him, and I don't want him to _think_ I am, I know that would hurt him just as much. But what do I _do_?"

"I am fully aware I'm pot calling kettle black here, but _ask_. Every time. Not literally every step, and there will still be situations like today where Cedric wouldn't be responsive enough to answer in time. Ask enough, you might get a feel for what is and isn't all right without doing so - like the pet names. They're not his _favorite_ thing, certainly. And I drop them when he's upset, so long as I notice. He doesn't _like_ them, but they're apparently within acceptable range. I think he figured out at some point that I don't mean them maliciously, that I was trying to share a joke with him. Maybe not, though." Greylock's voice started trailing off considerably towards the end there, and as he sank back in his chair he looked almost wistful.

Sofia wasn't sure how to respond to the last bit, so she just put her hand over Greylock's on the chair arm between them. He looked at her and gave a small smile.


	8. Patchwork Conscience

Later that night, Greylock and Sofia were finally allowed to go into the room where Cedric was sleeping.

...Where he _ought_ to be sleeping. "Mm, yes, hello to both of you. I shouldn't be surprised, waiting up for me like a couple of mother hens."

Greylock rolled his eyes. "Would you rather us _not_?" Cedric's silence was answer enough. "So, what's the diagnosis, anyway?"

"Just hypothermia, that's all," Cedric said. Sofia thought that seemed a little _sudden_ for hypothermia, but kept her mouth shut. The way Greylock squinted reminded her that he agreed, but bullying it out of him sounded like an exceptionally bad idea, especially now.

Sofia cleared her throat. "Cedric, I _know_ what you just said about mother hens," _and what I just said about eggshells,_ she mentally added, "but is there anything you need?"

Cedric grumbled and turned to face the wall. "No, there's not. You really can be a nuisance sometimes, you know. 'Relentlessly Helpful,' I think was the term father says about mummy. Works here too. Shoo, shoo, stop bothering me."

"Now _hold on_ , Cedric," Greylock cut in, "That was uncalled for. If you don't want us here, we'll go, but no need to be _vile_ about it"

Cedric snorted, but otherwise didn't react.

"No, no, Greylock, it's fine. Thank you. I don't want to be where I'm not wanted." Sofia sighed with a rueful smile. "I'm sorry, Cedric. I guess I'll see you on Thursday for tutoring."

As she got up to leave, though, there was a strangled gurgling noise until Cedric turned back to face her, sitting up this time, and managed the words to say, "No! Don't, ah. Don't go. I… _do…_ want you here. I'm - s...sor…" Was Cedric actually about to apologize? "Ssss…..slightly thirsty, if you could bring me a glass of water." He paused and his eyes widened. "On - on second thought, maybe _not_ water. Probably not anything cold either. Just - ah, nevermind." Cedric rolled over, facing the wall again.

"And really, I'm fine enough to get what I want myself," Cedric said, loud enough for Greylock and Sofia to hear, "The nurses think I ought to rest here for the night, but I'm _warm_ now, I don't just go fainting from _standing up_ , hah. Oh, wouldn't _that_ be awful. Horrid. Glad that's not me." Sofia and Greylock exchanged a glance.

"So, then, fine! Do go if you want. I don't care. Even if-" Cedric turned and glanced at Greylock, then looked to Sofia, still standing near the door. "Even given what happened. I don't, c-care."

That was some of the worst lying Cedric had ever done, at least while Sofia had known him. She giggled a little and moved back to sit down.

Greylock said, "Y'know, Cedric, _I_ know. No need to be coy about it, you two kissed. Congratulations, both of you." There it was again, that sort of melancholy. She'd really have to get Greylock on his own again later to reassure him he wasn't going to be left out. She couldn't do that to him if she wanted to, and couldn't imagine wanting to, either.

At any rate, Cedric sputtered a bit at Greylock's words, finally managing to ask, "Sofia? Why?" He kept shifting his eyes over to his roommate.

" _Why_?" Sofia balked for a moment. "Are you really asking why I'd tell your - my - _our_ best friend, the other of _us_ , as a group, an inseparable unit, that you and I may have fundamentally changed our relationship?"

Scoffing, Cedric said, "Sofia, since when exactly have _you_ been a part of the 'insep-'" Cedric stopped suddenly, and Sofia was too hurt to respond immediately; by the time she could, he was already talking again. "...I suppose that's 'not very far into this year,' since I apparently won't turn away the friendship of literally anyone who offers it."

Cedric's head faced Sofia, but he was looking at Greylock when he finally responded, "Soo… Yes, well, when you put it that way."

...And that seemed to be all he was going to say. So Sofia asked, "What...does this make us, anyway, Cedric? Are we going to be Officially Dating, or was this a mistake and we should all forget about it? Or some other third option?"

Cedric looked at Sofia again, then away. "I…" He sighed. "I don't really know, Sofia."

Sofia nodded. "For the record, I would like to be Officially Dating, but don't mind if - well, no, that's not true. Won't _begrudge_ it of you if you'd rather not, if you'd like to think this all never happened."

Cedric snorted derisively, staring intently at the wall. "Regardless of how much I might or might not _like_ to think this all happened, Sofia, it definitively did." He gestured towards himself, his bed. "I - well, I think it's evident I _do_ have very sentimental feelings regarding you. But you pull me, you push me, sometimes into _freezing cold water_. And _I_ have got to deal with the results."

Greylock responded before Sofia managed to catch her breath. "What in the _nether_ , Cedric? Sofia feels badly enough already. I'm not saying you can't feel a bit _salty_ , but you're just taking that salt and rubbing it into the wound."

Cedric turned to him and said, "Now, Greylock, I know you're fond of a good _joke_ , and good humor in general, but my life was _literally in danger_. I think that _ought_ to give me sufficient cause to be angry."

"It does," Greylock conceded, voice low and even like Sofia had never heard it before. The small tinge of anger, in addition to the contrast with his usual boisterous self, made it almost chilling to hear. "You do have right to be angry, I literally just said that. But lashing out like this is _not_ the answer. Nor is pushing people away for _one_ mistake. Remember, you can always come back from mistakes, you can always come back from your anger. And you've no excuse not to try." Greylock crossed his arms and glowered.

With a scoff, Cedric said, "Did you not hear me about my _life_ in _danger_? You can't come back from-" Cedric hesitated and his eyes went a bit wider, then he continued with a voice a bit higher and squeakier than usual, "from what _might_ have happened there."

"You might notice, Cedric," Greylock said, still calm, "that it didn't. You are, in fact, alive and well." Cedric started to sputter a reply, and Greylock amended, "Well enough, and on your way to doing better. That ought to be something."

Sofia finally managed to find her voice and said, looking down at her feet,"I'm sorry, Cedric. There was something coming, and you weren't doing anything, and I -"

Cedric cut her off. "What, you were upset that I froze figuratively, thought you'd add _literally_ to that too?"

This raised Sofia's head. "Cedric, I was _trying_ to keep us safe. Given how you panic, I knew I needed to act for the both of us. ...I know it wasn't my best moment." How Sofia kept her voice level through this, she didn't know, but she managed.

"That's quite a definition of 'safe' you've got, Sofia! I'd hate to see what your bedside manner is like, at that rate. Oh, right, it's shouting at the person you put in the infirmary in the first place!"

"Cedric," Greylock said, evenly, "you're the only one who's shouting here. And would you rather be _dead_? Because for all either of you knew, you both _would_ have been if she hadn't acted!"

Cedric looked between Sofia and Greylock, and slipped his feet to hang off his bed. " _Now_ who's shouting?" he asked. "You both come into my room, while I am convalescing from bodily harm that - regardless of intent, Sofia _did_ inflict upon me." He stood up and took a step forward. "You come into _my_ room, you gang up on - on me…" Cedric clearly looked between the two again, the anger having fallen from his face for a moment, replaced by a look of sadness, especially as he looked at Sofia, but not in the eyes; then, the anger returned. "You two start _canoodling_ just outside my door, and you gang up on me and have the _audacity_ to blame _me_." He took the last few steps to approach Greylock, though he wobbled.

Greylock looked up the few inches to Cedric's face, scowling but holding his ground. "I did nothing untowards regarding Sofia, and neither did she. Though you've _rejected_ her, so I don't see that you have any cause for jealous possessiveness _regardless_."

Sofia would...really rather no one jealously guard her like a possession, but now was not the time for that. And why was that the only thing she could think of now, anyway? She'd just… She normally did so well under pressure, and yet _here they were_.

Cedric scowled back at Greylock and raised a shaking hand. "That's all you can say? You really won't deny blaming _me_. You've got a lot of nerve." Cedric roughly poked Greylock's nose, but his shaking hand slipped, and managed to jab Greylock in the eye causing him to recoil and cry out in pain.

Finally, Sofia was moved into action, though there wasn't much she could do aside from catch Greylock and stop him from stumbling into any of the furniture.

Before either could accuse him, Cedric had already said, "Grey! No, I didn't mean - that is, I - not _that_ , oh there must be eye drops around here _somewhere_." He then went looking about the room, pulling open drawers and cabinets haphazardly, leaving them open when he'd not found what he was looking for.

After Greylock was safely seated, Sofia went to look too - and found an enchanted ice pack. "This'll do," she said, "probably better." Cedric looked over at her and followed slowly.

They gave Greylock the bag to hold over his eye, and Cedric said again, "I, I - I am sorry. I didn't… mean to hurt you. Mostly just - well, I don't know what the point of poking your nose was." Cedric sat back on his bed and sighed. "The rest too. Perhaps I am being too harsh."

That was probably the best apology they'd get out of Cedric. Honestly, it probably ranked near the top of what Sofia had ever heard from him, though she didn't remember any specifically.

"You're all right, Cedric, old friend," Greylock said behind the bag of ice, "You can always come back. Forgiven, even if this does hurt like the very devil itself."

Cedric rolled his eyes and scoffed. "One, that's exaggeration, and two, 'I nearly died' and 'my eye hurts a bit' seem a _bit_ disparate in terms of severity."

"Well, Cedric, 'always' does in fact cover _everything._ As long as my heart is beating in my chest-" Greylock paused here to put his hand over his heart, "I will work to forgive, I will work to be forgiven, and I will say: you can _always_ come back."

Again, Cedric rolled his eyes, but he seemed to smile, too, as he pouted.

"Thank you, Cedric," Sofia said, "for apologizing to me too. That means a lot." He didn't, directly, but it was close enough, and she knew what he meant. "You _do_ have every right to be angry, but I can't lie to say that it doesn't hurt." She took a deep breath. "I said during dinner I'd try to back off a bit. I was intending to regardless, but I especially will now. I'm sorry I hurt you, physically _and_ emotionally. I won't let that happen again."

"Hm-mm, and thank you too." Cedric looked between Greylock and Sofia again.

Greylock was just sitting back with the cold compress on his eye, the other one closed. He might have been asleep, as relaxed as he looked, if it weren't for the hand that kept the pack in position.

Sofia swallowed as she steeled herself. _What was_ that _supposed to mean?_ Was that really all Cedric was going to say, and leave it dangling like that, vague and unresolved? Or was he going to accuse her and Greylock again?

He did none of these things, finally resolving to look at Sofia. "Though, ah, to be _entirely_ honest, I would… like you to not back off _entirely_. Less pushing into fountains is certainly good, but, maybe…" He coughed, clearly a forced cough rather than the lung-wracking sound of an involuntary one. "I'd like to -" Cedric paused and cleared his throat. "To - to kiss you again." He looked away from her, face scrunched in what Sofia assumed was embarrassment.

If she'd been less emotionally exhausted, she could have giggled. As it was, she just smiled, and said, "Would right now be okay?"

Before Cedric had a chance to respond, Greylock said, "Oh, do get a _room_ , you two. And not one in the infirmary."

Sofia hadn't forgotten Greylock was there, but had hoped he'd been snoozing, at least. "I'm not going to snog him right here in front of you, Greylock." She laughed softly, tiredly, at that. "I was _trying_ to be cute and say 'yes please' at the same time."She also thought might help restore some of the trust they'd lost in each other tonight, but that would sound awfully... _blunt?_ perhaps even manipulative? if said aloud.

"You _do_ like to succeed at that, don't you." Greylock chuckled, then made a noise in his throat, a sing-songy kind of groan, and waved Sofia over to Cedric. "I don't mean to interfere, just ribbing the both of you."

"Actually," Cedric said, "right now would _not_ be okay. It's not - well, you see. The, the fact is-" He took a deep breath and tried again. "Grey is here, and I'd… rather not…" Cedric mumbled as he turned away, but also she caught was the word 'hurt'.

Sofia glanced over to Greylock, who still just sat, eyes closed, under his ice pack. Still, Cedric had a point, of course it would hurt Greylock, being the third wheel. "All right," she eventually said, "No problem. I ask so you can say ' _no,'_ I'm not going to be offended, or mad, or any of that. But yes, I'd like to kiss you in the future, too."

Cedric didn't respond to that aside from making a noncommittal noise. That was… discouraging, but not entirely surprising.

There was a few moments of awkward silence - at least, they felt awkward to Sofia. Greylock broke it by saying, "Well, you two lovebirds are quite adorable I suppose, but we probably ought to let Cedric sleep, don't you think, Sofia? Not to mention you and I need our rest ourselves."

Both good points. "All right. Cedric, I'll see you tomorrow?" Sofia said.

"Yes, yes, I suppose you will," Cedric responded, and Sofia managed a laugh, then kissed her hand and blew him the kiss before she left with Greylock.

* * *

The door closed behind Sofia, and Cedric was left alone in the room. Belatedly, he made a motion as if catching something invisible in the air, having only just remembered people do that with blown kisses.

Cedric looked down at his fingers, holding an imaginary kiss. He had someone who would blow him kisses. Romance had never been his top priority, but he'd figured he'd end up old and alone, stuck in the castle's tower with his spells and his potions, which he admittedly liked more than most people… but totally, thoroughly, alone. No one interested in him, who'd send him kisses on her way out.

No friend to share his room with, either.

The semi-dark room was suddenly a lot colder, as Cedric realized this would be the first time in a _while_ he'd be sleeping in a room alone, at least while not home in his own house for the holidays. And even that room had its own demons.

He hadn't really been alone at night since he'd gotten Greylock for a roommate. Before that, there was the occasional night he'd sneak out to find someplace else, and this was better than those nights, at least. He wasn't caught between a rock and a hard place, wasn't forced to choose feeling personally safe over official reprimand. Still, Cedric missed the comforting presence of another warm body, who _knew_ , who would defend him, would never hurt him like that.

There were also the nights his other roommates had left him alone, finding some other student to room with, to get in trouble with. These nights weren't really any better. Cedric looked across the cabinets and shelves of the infirmary, the various medicines, tinctures, potions, _chemicals_ lined the walls. Cedric really needed some company.

"Familiarus Comhericus," he said, and Wormwood appeared in a puff of smoke near his other, still-wet clothes, hanging by the magic radiator. The bird swooped over to the edge of Cedric's bed, and Cedric pet him with a small smile on his face. It wasn't the same as having a real roommate, especially not someone like Greylock, but it would do.

Greylock, who for all his irritating habits, was closer to Cedric than anyone, even Sofia.

And whose school robe was on Sofia's shoulders when the two talked to him. It _had_ to be his, it was much too broad-shouldered for her small, if soft, frame. They were obviously lying, _something_ had obviously happened in the hall before they came in to see him.

Cedric put his hands over his eyes as he laid back on his bed. Wormwood walked up to Cedric's shoulder and affectionately nuzzled the young man, but sent Cedric another vision - the one from earlier, of Sofia and Greylock, and he was falling, falling.

Did she actually feel for him after all? ...If this _was_ some plot, it seemed to be rather circuitous. Why visit him in the room at all, if they'd been snogging right outside his door? Didn't she have what she wanted already, why drag him into it further? It didn't make sense.

On the other hand, there was… there was Greylock. As much as Cedric was hurt by the idea that Sofia would cheat on him before they were even 'official,' with Greylock of all people, Cedric...couldn't say he didn't understand the impulse. Not that Grey ever would, ever _could_ be interested in - well, someone like Cedric anyway. Still, he'd preferred not to have hurt what little chances he had with Greylock. On the other hand, at least Sofia apparently hadn't heard, or had misheard, _that_ little gem of a mumble.

And anyhow, how did Sofia even have these feelings, these romantic inclinations? He was going back and forth on everything, even the Amulet. First he'd been so worried, so guilty, then just… casually asked about it. His mind had just wandered and went right back to what he was stewing on, the Amulet, and he hadn't managed to check himself in time before asking for it. He hadn't been explicit about his thesis, but - _wait._ Sofia was so focused on the kiss, maybe she'd forget his interest in the amulet, maybe wouldn't think twice about it. ...Or maybe this was _good_ , actually. There was no need to hide his thesis, that would give him a good reason to ask all about it, to hold it and study it. And really, that's the majority of what he wanted anyway. It would be so much _easier_ to just own the blasted thing himself, especially since it - it probably amplified her powers. That would make sense. He wouldn't have to try at all, if he had it, he'd be able to breeze through whatever spells struck his fancy, and especially next spring's NEWTs. ...And hurt Sofia in the process, perhaps forcibly disenroll her from the school.

Oh, this was all useless. Wasn't there a sleeping draught the nurses had left for him? He didn't know the herbs, the potions and remedies here, so couldn't mix up anything for himself if there wasn't… Something of a blessing and a curse, that. At least he wasn't tempted to mix anything _else_ for himself, either.

Luckily, there _was_ just such a potion left on his bedside table. Cedric looked at the label to see the dosage, and found that the tiny bottle was single-serving. Right, they _would_ do that. "Well," Cedric said to Wormwood, "bottoms up." He took the potion, grimaced at the bitter taste, and lay down to sleep. At least it wasn't fast-act-…

Cedric was out before he finished his thought.

* * *

Greylock paused as Sofia softly shut the door to the infirmary building behind them, then let her lead the way to Crage House.

She rolled her eyes at that. "I don't need you _guys_ escorting me around just because I'm a girl, you know."

Greylock smiled. "It's not that, you're just very _small_." He patted the top of her head affectionately.

Sofia puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms. "You're not much taller than I am, and Cedric's only tall when he's not slouching so much. And he's more in need of defending than I am. ...Sometimes even from-"

Cutting her off, Greylock said, "Nope, none of that, Sofia. You mucked up; it happens. Everyone is all right, and we're moving past it. Be sure to keep in mind Cedric's health - more fragile than you or I thought, apparently - and you will be _fine_."

Sofia smiled and sighed. "Yeah, and I guess the guilt will wear off... _eventually_. It's just hard, you know?"

"I do," said Greylock. He'd hurt Cedric his fair share, though more emotionally than physically. Not very recently, not this school year, but he remembered quite well enough.

"Oh, also," Sofia said, "I'm sorry about the whole - the whole kiss thing, even if it didn't actually _happen,_ in the room itself. I know that was insensitive. I just want to reassure you that I'm _not_ going to push you out of Cedric's life." Greylock raised an eyebrow but smiled at her, and she continued, "I mean, I couldn't if I wanted to, you're way too close for that."

Apparently not all _that_ close, but Greylock didn't want to dampen her spirits. Instead, he said, "Thank you, Sofia. I appreciate the promise. Of course, there's always the fact that one of us rooms with him…"

Sofia gave a tired laugh. "Yes, there is that. I was about to say that next, actually. I mean, I suppose it could end up driving a wedge and making it weird to sleep or something, but you'd still be _around_ , and have a lot more chances to make right with him. Or move out, but I hear changing roommates is pretty hard once you're set up with someone, and if you've been with him for so long that, well, I find it hard to imagine what _could_ drive a wedge between you two."

Greylock cleared his throat and looked for a way to respond. "Well, we've actually only been roommates for a little over a year. Special circumstances, and that's all I can say."

Sofia blinked, then nodded. "Still, that's a lot longer than I've known him. I wouldn't _dream_ of taking you away from him. Or him away from you, or from me. You've been an invaluable friend to me here at Hexley Hall. I don't know where I'd be without Cedric's tutoring and help and all, but I _also_ don't know where I'd be if I didn't have you to laugh with in some classes, to drag me to auditions, to be willing to come running to help without even knowing _why_ Clover was so upset. I don't remember if I thanked you earlier for that specifically, so I'll say it now: _thank you_. Thank you for that, and for everything."

Well, that was certainly something. "You're welcome, Sofia, though there's no need to thank me. I'm a rather _amazing_ friend to have, I'm aware! You could even call me… _grand._ " Greylock grinned wide, and decided not to dwell on what-might-have-beens, to make jokes and be happy for his friends instead.

Shaking her head, Sofia said, "You keep _saying_ that, like you're already titled. How do you know that if you even-"

"If? Sofia, my dear, _if_ I get a title? Who do you think I am? Have you _seen_ my grades? How can you even _question_ me like that, I'm hurt!" Greylock put a hand over his heart and gave an over-exaggerated gasp and frown.

It warmed his heart to see Sofia's giggle bubble up at that, not so tired as before. "All right," she said, " _when_ you get this title, how do you even know you'd be 'the Grand'? You could be something else, like…"

"Well, for one," Greylock said, "'The Great' is right out. Cedric's father Goodwyn has _that_ , and he's still kicking. If mister Goodwyn Sorciere weren't such a notable figure, famous even among his already-noteworthy bloodline, then _sure_ I suppose I might have to share. But as it stands, unless he happens to kick the bucket soon, I shan't be that. Even if he _does_ , there's probably little chance."

"Oooh, that's _right_ ," Sofia said, "I keep forgetting about that. I mean, father issues is one thing, but I forget the guy's an entity _separate_ of Cedric sometimes."

Greylock snorted a short laugh. "Further, it would be a shame to use a word that doesn't use the first two letters of my name. 'Great' _would_ have been nice, sharing three, but not much to do there. Goodwyn's the only man, woman, or otherwise that I know of whose title _doesn't_ share both the first _and_ second letter - or at least sounds - but I suppose I don't know a whole lot else that works with his name aside from the too-obvious 'Good'." Greylock shrugged. "So it's possible I might end up with 'Good' myself, but 'Grand,' aside from being - well, _grander_ \- is more likely."

"I _seee_ ," Sofia said, smiling. "So, _when_ I get my own title-"

Greylock cut her off with a laugh and said, "Good girl!"

Sofia continued, "-what do you think it'll be?"

"Hmm…" Greylock put his fingers to his chin as he thought. "Sofia the Sophisticated."

That got a raspberry in response. "That's not very daunting at all!" Sofia said with a pout. "I don't want to go to _parties_ , I want to be an imposing sorceress!"

"Haha, all right. Let's see… Sensational?"

Sofia shook her head at that too. "Not with the soft 'eh' in second place, that's clearly much better suited to Cedric."

Greylock chuckled. "So it is, so it is… How about - Sonorous? Somnolent? Socratic? ...Sorceress? I'm sorry, Sofia, I'm not having any luck."

"Oh, well," Sofia said, giving an exaggerated shrug. "It's not like I need to know right away. I'll get it eventually, I'm sure. And be sure to tell whoever Titles me, after whatever great Deed I do, not to give me something silly like 'sophisticated'."

Greylock nodded. "And curse them - prank level only, obviously- until they agree if they don't, mm?"

"Well of _course_!" Sofia said, "Though I'd probably go with hexes I learned from Lucinda, a hedge witch near my village. Sorcery, while it can go wrong in really amusing ways, usually has a useful purpose. Hexes are - well, I don't know if they're _designed_ , as most of them seemed to be passed down through the generations from what I gather, but I never found much intent aside from causing mischief." Sofia shrugged, only slightly this time. "Ooof course, I was also an outsider, and I didn't go to her family's village in the woods. So, they _probably_ had useful magic, but they all _so_ delighted in spreading trouble." Sofia shook her head and sighed.

Greylock tilted his head as he listened with interest. "Is that so? Is that how you managed to learn and wield magic in the first place then?"

Sofia hesitated for a moment… a _long_ moment. But then she was back to herself, and Sofia said, "That's right! I've always been interested in magic, but there wasn't much I could _do_ about that in Dunwiddee. Not until Lucinda's coven moved in, anyway! I was…" Sofia paused to count on her fingers. "I think I was eight, then. Lucinda didn't have any friends, until I became one to her and helped her make more, she taught me what she could! She eventually roped her sisters into it too, which was a _blast_. I wish I'd been let into their village itself though, I can only imagine what it's like…" She gave a wistful sigh and stared into the middle distance, and Greylock felt his heart go out to her.

"I guess asking if you miss it would be a silly question," he said. "Do you at least like it here?"

Sofia looked back at him with half of her mouth pulled into something like a grimace, but not quite. "I like that I met you, Greylock," she said, "and I like that I met Cedric, and several other nice people. I like that while I'm here, I'm learning new magic. But honestly?" She looked away again. "I don't know. _Realistically_ , I don't regret coming here, as it was by far the best option, and I was lucky it was even available. But _ideally_ , I - well, in an ideal world you two would come back with me and we could all be hedge witches together."

Greylock knitted his brows together as Sofia chuckled at her own scenario. "I don't quite follow your meaning," he said.

Sofia looked back at him, and he could see realization dawn on her. "Oh. Well, I guess it's not a big deal for most you guys here, is it?" Greylock shook his head, still not knowing what she was talking about. "Rogue mages are _pretty_ illegal. I wasn't sponsored by a noble or in any sort of official capacity, be it training or schooling or whatever. The hedge witches get special clearance, since that's a cultural thing that's gone on for, what, hundreds of years? I, on the other hand, had no such heritage."

Blinking from the news, Greylock could only say, "Oh."

" _Yeah_. I am a minor, so they were lenient. Mom and I had three options: petition Hexley Halls for a scholarship and hope they'd give me one so I could afford to come here - or, uh…" Sofia hesitated. "Or maybe Mom could afford it after all… I'll explain later." Odd, but fair, regarding 'later'. Sofia continued, "Either way, option A: Hope I got into Hexley Hall."

Greylock nodded. "Which obviously, you did. Options B and C?"

Sofia nodded in return, and said, "Option B: get stuck with a noble or royal-sponsored sorcerer or sorceress. I'd have no control over the decision process of who I was placed with, and no way out if they proved to be, uh… Troublesome."

"Troublesome?"

Sofia kept her face towards him, but turned her eyes away. "Greylock. I'm… a young woman going through puberty, who would be in a position of no social power, and probably no physical power."

It took a moment, but… " _Oh._ "

"So that was obviously pretty unsavory!" Sofia said with false perkiness. "To be avoided if at all possible. But, well, option C was _South Stairs._ "

Ahh, yes, South Stairs. Rumors abounded of a cavern system underground somewhere in Enchancia, where political prisoners of kings gone past were put, people who weren't intended to be seen again, but too important to outright kill; there was supposed to be a whole city of the descendants of convicts down there, though that _had_ to be fantasy.

"...I know I'm not from Enchancia, but I thought Roland II hadn't used the place in his reign?"

Sofia shrugged. "I thought it didn't exist at all, and I only lived about an hour's ride from the castle. Or at least, that's how far people _said_ it was - the only carriage I've ever been in is the one what brought me here." She took a moment to catch her breath, then continued, "I don't know. Maybe it doesn't exist, and it was only a threat. Maybe it does, and the king's troops use it without express consent or denial from him, or maybe he's in the dark. Maybe he's ordered only mages to be thrown down there, I have _no_ idea. But I do know that _that_ would be even worse than a handsy teacher, and I didn't - still don't - have nearly enough information to judge whether or not that threat was idle or not."

Greylock let out a breath as he processed what she said. "Bloody _hell,_ Sofia," he finally managed, which got a giggle out of her. "What?" he responded, "Do you expect me to use a silly oath like Pippin's Puffy Panties, at this?" He was smiling, but- "Seriously, though. I…"

He didn't know what else to do. She didn't seem as perturbed by this as he felt, which honestly made him feel _worse_ for her. Was she holding it in, to save face? Had she bottled it up so it wouldn't hurt as much anymore? Was she really so numb to these things that it actually didn't affect her very much? There wasn't a good answer.

Greylock didn't know what else to do, so he stopped, and he hugged her. "I wish you didn't have to go through that," he said into her hair. "I'm sorry."

Sofia hugged him back lightly and said, "Don't be sorry, it's not _your_ fault." She pulled away before he was quite done and continued, "Thanks, but I'm okay. It sucks, but that's in the past, now, and more importantly these things never actually _happened_. Do I wish things could have gone differently? Sure. Given the choices I had, would I have done anything different? Not on your life. ...Or mine, eheh."

With a sigh, Greylock withdrew, though he left a hand on her shoulder - that was still in his robe. Heh. "All right, then," he said, "but if you ever need a hug, or a shoulder to cry on, or any of that - know you can come to me."

Sofia smiled up at him and put her hand on his free one - and they probably looked like they were about to ballroom dance, Greylock thought. Though with his hand on Sofia's shoulder, she'd be leading. ...Not a position Greylock was used to being in, but she managed to lead even him around the school, so it felt right.

Of course, they weren't dancing. That was silly. And - oh, she'd been speaking. "Sorry," Greylock said, "I missed that, come again?"

Sofia rolled her eyes and said, "Thank you. Though being made to say 'thank you' twice feels a little much, even for you."

"No, I didn't intend to! That is, I was legitimately spacing out. I apologize, Sofia dear." Greylock stepped back, breaking both points of contact, and gave a deep bow, which got Sofia laughing again.

"All right, all right. I'll remember that - and you'd better be prepared to take me up on that offer, because I'll hold you to it." She poked a finger in the air at him, but her smile and raised eyebrow betrayed her even if her voice didn't.

Greylock laughed and said, "Come now, I wouldn't have made the offer if I wasn't prepared to uphold my end of the bargain. Now come on, let's get you inside, I'm pretty sure Crage is just up here."

So Sofia was in her room shortly, and Greylock went back to his own in Goodwyn - as long or longer distance between the two Houses as it was between the infirmary and Crage, but he no longer had any reason to dawdle.

Finally, Greylock clicked the door to his and Cedric's room shut, and sighed.

It was lonely, without Cedric here. Hopefully Cedric was doing all right, alone himself. Maybe Greylock should have made a fuss, should have pushed to let Cedric be released tonight, but no, that would have looked over-protective, like he thought that Cedric couldn't take care of himself.

No, this was probably for the best. And hell, Cedric probably _appreciated_ a night alone, for once. No irritating roommate to keep him up, etcetera. ...Or any need to be subtle if he had certain _needs_ , though Greylock immediately tried to push that thought out of his mind for a number of reasons.

 _Well, sleep well, then, Cedric_ , Greylock thought, and hoped that somehow his intentions would travel through the ether and reach Cedric. That's not how magic worked, not at all, but there was still that odd sort of faith that maybe it would, this time.

Greylock sat on his bed with a thump, and said, "Familiarus Comhericus." Fiyero the fox appeared next to him in a puff of blue smoke as he stripped off his remaining clothes, and was promptly squished into a bear hug by the young mage. He scratched the fox's ears and head, which nuzzled into his hands. "What a stressful day…" he said, to the fox, to the wall, to no one and nothing in particular.

"It feels a little hard to believe the auditions were just this afternoon," Greylock said aloud. "I hope I did well enough. And Jamie…" He sighed and patted Fiyero's head, continuing with a wistful tone to his voice. "I know I haven't got a chance with Cedric, I think I've known that for a while now." A pause, as he put a finger to his chin and thought. "...I wonder if it's dishonest to try to be interested in someone when I'm still so close to him? It _will_ take a long time to build a relationship with anyone nearly as well as I have with Cedric… his lack of romantic interest notwithstanding."

Another sigh, then Greylock perked up suddenly. "Well!" he said brightly, "I'll never be able to if I don't start somewhere. _And_ it would be so nice to have someone who's as into theater as I am, to talk with and enjoy and hold." The young sorcerer hadn't ever let his familiar _go_ from his hug, but he took this opportunity to squeeze him - her - a bit tighter.

Greylock paused and looked down at the red-orange bundle of fluff in his arms. "I guess it's really more 'Fiyer...aba'?" He shook his head. "No, no, that sounds awful. Maybe I should just come up with an entirely new name for you… hm…" Greylock tilted his head in thought. "Glimora? No, no not that either. Uh…" Further quiet contemplation. "Okay, I don't know. I need to respect you as you actually are… _this part of myself…_ " He let out a snort of laughter at the… no, it wasn't irony. Some sort of humor laced the situation, but irony was not it. "...But I'm clearly bad at names. You, my friend, are going to need to tell Sof a better name at some point, because I'm still stuck on-" A sudden pause as Greylock's breath hitched. "...Well, no, I suppose I shouldn't use that name anymore."

Greylock looked down at the fox in his arms, lightly shrugged, sighed, and fell on to his side on the bed, still clutching the animal. This turned out to be entirely pointless, as he had to let her go in a moment to properly burrow under the coverlets for the night, and because when he was done she slipped right back into his arms anyway.

"Is sleeping with a live animal - that won't be hurt, thankfully - as childish as sleeping with a stuffed animal?" Greylock mumbled to the fox. "No matter. You're literally a part of me. It's not like people who play fetch with their familiars in the yard or something. _Imagine_ , brazenly playing with yourself like that."

The fox - whatever her name was - perked up and wiggled out of Greylock's arms. His gaze followed her movement, and he wondered what on earth she was getting at, until she pawed open a drawer from his dresser. Well, rather, The Drawer.

Greylock put a hand to his face and said, "-What? No I didn't mean like-" He paused and screwed his eyes shut. "...Well _now_ I'm thinking like that. Bad fox. Bad. Amoral, even!" Another pause, though this time he looked intently from the fox to the drawer with his, ah, collection… "You, uh…" Greylock couldn't finish his sentence, didn't even know what he wanted to say. He glanced over at Cedric's empty bed again, and sighed, finally. "Familiarus Gonicus."

* * *

Sofia thanked Greylock for the company as he deposited her at her House. "Though," she added, "I'm almost surprised you're not going to try escorting me to my very bedside, little as you trust my _little_ old self." She raised an eyebrow and stuck her tongue out as she looked up at Greylock, who was standing very close to her. If she'd leaned forward a little, she'd probably end up licking his chin, which sounded like an awful thought, with the bit of peach fuzz there and just... _why, Sofia. Why, brain. Stop._ What sort of thought even _was_ that. Clover wasn't helping matters, in that he had decided to squeeze between the two and was lying across their feet, though since Sofia didn't feel much she figured most of his weight was on Greylock's toes. Figured. She really needed to learn to control him better, or remember to unsummon him, he was becoming quite embarrassing.

Thankfully, it seemed that Greylock didn't notice anything odd as he patted the top of her head. "No, no, dear Sofia, even that's not quite the case, despite what I was saying earlier. Mostly, I just wanted to stave off boredom and loneliness for a little longer." Sofia...couldn't tell if that was a joke or not. Usually Greylock was obviously boisterous about his jokes, but he also wasn't prone to that kind of sincerity. It felt...strange.

It was a nice strange. She smiled, and turned her head to give Greylock one last hug before they parted. "Thanks again," she said, "for… everything." She felt him nod, though he didn't say anything.

Then they pulled apart and looked at each other for a moment, before Greylock said suddenly, "Toodle-oo!" and, with a wave, started skipping away. Sofia waved back and watched him go - and watched him stop skipping after a few seconds. He didn't look back, so Sofia wondered if he just didn't have the energy he thought he had, or if maybe he'd assumed she'd gone back inside by then. Oh well.

Eventually, Sofia turned away from the door, where she hadn't actually been able to see Greylock anymore for a little while, and started to go to her bed. On the way, however, she was stopped by Prefect Rivera. "Young miss Balthazar, _what on earth_ are you doing coming in so late? Lights out was half an hour ago, let alone free-roaming hours." The way she eyed Sofia's - _Greylock's_ \- robe, Sofia was fairly sure she knew _exactly_ what miss Pearl was accusing her of.

Sofia blinked, and said, "Oh, right. I have a note here, my-" Digging in the pocket of the baggy robe, Sofia suddenly paused while talking, before managing to word her thoughts in a less suspicious way. "... _Friend_ and I had an incident, and he had to go to the infirmary." Sofia placed the note written by one of the nurses as the two students left the infirmary into the prefect's waiting hand. There, good, note given and suspicion averted. Miss Pearl didn't need to know that Sofia had been out with what... _may_ have been her boyfriend. "His roommate was also there, making sure he was okay, and offered to walk me back." And there was the robe explained, somewhat. Technically true, too.

Rivera eyed the note, then waved Sofia on and said, "I'm sorry to hear that. I hope he gets well soon." Sofia nodded and thanked her, then made her way to the communal bedroom.

Finally, Sofia made it to the dorm hall and made her way to her bed... which had her bookbag lying on the middle of it. Right, she dropped that off here before giving Cedric the scones earlier. ...And she hadn't done anything with it since. Which meant that she still had.. _so_ much homework to do.

It was past lights-out, so she obviously couldn't do it tonight. That wasn't to say the lights in the room were actually all out - Connie was up reading again, surprise surprise. Rather than risk a control mishap with a witchlight - or even worse, a magical flame - Sofia picked up a candle and a match from her bedside and lit the candle manually. By its light, she dumped the contents of her bag onto her bed and started to organize them into stacks by subject and hour the class was held - that is, whether she would have to wake up early to finish the work on time, or if she could cram it in the breaks between classes and/or during lunch hour.

As Sofia was doing this, she noticed a small, unfamiliar book that had gotten wedged inside one of her much larger and thicker textbooks. She took the thing out and examined its outside - it had no label on either the front or the spine, no decoration at all on the shiny black leather binding.

Taking the obvious next course of action, Sofia opened the book. The inside had no title page or anything of the sort - what was there was hand-written. While it didn't have a name on the inside any more than it had on the outside, Sofia could recognize Cedric's handwriting fairly easily. He'd written enough things for her to read, instructions of things to practice outside of their tutoring sessions, books to look at… Not to mention, there - there _was_ that bit, earlier, before the auditions even, in the lesson with Cedric, where she hadn't been paying close attention to what she was shoving in her bag. Oops.

She thumbed through it, and it seemed to be some sort of miscellaneous note book. There were some journal entries it looked like, thoughts about unmarked days. There were some recipes for different flavors of tea, using herbs Cedric had in his cabinet, it looked like, though Sofia didn't know herbs very well. There were apparently random quotes from things, and some poetry that looked original - and textbook bad. Sofia chuckled lightly at that. Practically every poem had overly dark motifs and veered into purple prose- amusingly, given their shared favorite color. It seemed she'd stumbled onto evidence of Cedric's emo phase.

Most common were bad drawings of birds. Circle bodies and heads, triangle wings and beaks, jagged zigzags to indicate feathers sometimes. Usually the lines were filled in to make the birds look black, even if there was more white space left than not, usually.

Some of the doodles looked lazy and bored in their drawing style, and wouldn't have been noticeable had it not been for the contrast with the occasional bird, or group of birds, that had been drawn...energetically? Each line had been gone over several times with the pencil he'd been using, and the marks left a definite imprint on the page - though whether because of the repeated action or if there was unusual force behind the pencil when it was drawn.

Clover hopped up on to the bed to look at the book with her. "So, what's that?"

Sofia closed the book and looked at Clover. "It's clearly Cedric's journal, though shouldn't you know this, being...me?" she said, and bit her lip before finishing. "...It's adorable. I'm keeping it."

The rabbit just chuckled and said, "Really? You don't think that's a little.. shady?"

"Well, if you don't, I certainly don't." Sofia crossed her arms petulantly and looked at him.

Clover rolled his eyes and flopped onto his side and said, "Hah, Sof, you're turning into Cedric."


	9. I'm Not That Girl

Some days later, Sofia walked into History class and was greeted at the door by one of her friends in the class, Candy, who… didn't follow her in. Odd.

The rest of her friends in this class, minus Greylock and plus one from a classroom _near_ this one but not actually _here_ for the next hour block, were gathered around her desk and discussing something fervently. "Hiya!" she said on approaching the group, "What's up?"

They turned to her with smiles on their faces. Mabel gestured her closer and said in a conspiratorial, if still a bit loud, tone of voice, "Well, Star thinks Cedric will ask for the book by tomorrow, but the _smart_ money's on Greylock giving in first, since it's cold out and we only get the two robes, though probably not as soon as _tomorrow_."

Sofia blinked. What? _What?_ How...did they all even know-? True, Sofia hadn't been very cagey about the robe, but it replaced the one she'd had before on the hook by her bed, and wore her actual one out and about, so it shouldn't be obvious that it didn't fit, but- "How did you even find out about the journal?"

Star laughed a bit too loudly and said, "Ha _HA_! Pay up, Mabel! I knew it wouldn't be a diary. Oh, and Sofia, we saw you with _something_ and you kinda mutter to yourself while reading and it wasn't too hard to put together." Mabel leered and wrote Star an IOU.

Sofia covered her eyes with her hand and blushed, but nodded. Well, at least she hadn't read anything compromising about Cedric in the book to possibly mumble aloud. "You know what?" she finally managed to say, "Put me down for a pound on both."

"Both? That's not really a _bet,_ I don't see the point..." Mabel was giving Sofia a strange look. "But I _gueeess_ I'll allow it."

Sofia took her hand from her face and shook her head. "No, not like betting on all the flying horses in the race. What if… they _teamed up_ , to ask at the same time. Hmm?"

Mabel's eyes widened and she grinned. "I see! Girls, there's a new option on the table! ...Bleh, I'll have to figure odds for this one _too_ now. No wrangling Dipper in on this one.. Oh well!" She shrugged. "Still, make sure to get me the two quid sometime soon, or it _might_ become three." She raised an eyebrow and wiggled it at Sofia, who laughed.

"No problem," Sofia said, then shook her head and looked around at the gathered group. Mabel, obviously, was setting this whole thing up. Sofia didn't know there was such a side to the girl, good for her. Sofia didn't exactly _condone_ con-artistry, but it could certainly come in handy, and it was good to see the innocent-seeming Mabel more wily than Sofia had thought after all - though, honestly, Sofia should have expected as much, she supposed. It's not as if she herself was constantly underestimated, due to perceived gender, stature, and general adorable demeanor, _or anything_.

Also there were Shauna and Serena, the former with her arm around the latter's waist, looking excited by the prospect of adorable match-making opportunities. Sofia hadn't quite told any of them yet that she was now actually in a relationship _of sorts_ with Cedric. Oh, well, it's not like resolving the will-they-or-won't-they tension automatically meant cute things had to end. And anyway, when _wasn't_ it fun to pay Greylock back for his own practical joking.

Grenda was in much the same boat as Shauna and Serena, honestly, though she was much less subtle about her excitement, bouncing and clapping and when someone spoke, punctuating with something along the lines of " _YEAH_ it is!"

Star Butterfly, one of Sofia's friends who didn't live in Crage, was also there. Star looked happy from her earlier win, though still on edge, rather intense, as she looked between the other people standing in the group. Weird.

Before Sofia could puzzle out what was bugging Star, Candy rushed to the group and said, "He's coming, scatter!" causing the group to scatter. Slowly, given the obstacle course of desks, but scatter nonetheless. Mabel wiggled her eyebrows at Sofia as she passed, and made her way out of the classroom. She passed Greylock as he came in the door and winked. He winked back with a grin.

Greylock sat down next to Sofia, a few spots away from his usual _assigned_ seat. "So, what brought uh - what's her name again - over from the other class?"

Sofia answered, "Mabel, and-" Well, obviously she couldn't just… _tell_ him. That would be embarrassing, not to mention ruin the wager for everyone else - not that they had any right to wager on her at all. It was all in good fun, though, so she finished, "It was just a friendly wager, is all."

With uplifted eyebrows, Greylock said, "Is that so? What about, if I might ask?"

"You might _ask_ , but it's sort of… an inside joke," Sofia said, "You wouldn't get it if you weren't there for the thing to happen."

Shrugging, Greylock said, "Well, all right, can't be helped. Has anything else happened lately?"

Sofia took a moment to think, then shook her head. "Not really," she said, "Though I'll keep you posted."

They sat in companionable silence as Sofia looked over her book and homework for the class, until the professor walked in and everyone returned to their proper seats.

"Good morning, class," said Professor Layton, "to those of you whose morning is not good, especially." There were some grumbled 'good morning's in response, though no one seemed particularly malcontent.

"Before we launch into today's lesson," the professor said, "does anyone have any current events, history in the making, to discuss?"

Across the room from Sofia, Serena raised her hand. "Professor, have you heard anything about the new restrictions being put on mages?"

Layton's cheerful face lost its smile, and the grim look didn't seem to fit right on his face. The rest of the class didn't seem very at ease with the prospect either, and started murmuring to each other. "Very astute, Miss Grace. I do, in fact, know a fair bit about that. There have been _discussions_ within the powers that be - nothing more, nothing definite, I assure you, class." He put up his hand to hold off the murmuring that was only just dying down. "Still, it is worth noting nonetheless that these discussions are happening. They are currently over two subjects, largely: transportation, and students."

Unsurprisingly, there was another rise in volume from the class at that. Sofia kept quiet throughout, though, too puzzled to comment. When had all this been happening? This was the first she'd heard any of it. Granted, she also had no ties to the magical community outside of the grounds of Hexley Hall, so perhaps that wasn't a surprise after all.

"The former shouldn't concern you students overly much, it's largely about us older codgers." He shared a chuckle with the class at that. "We'll have to have _chaperones_ while traveling, can you imagine? Perhaps we're being treated as students after all." Another chuckle. "The latter, well, isn't so bad, though I understand you'll be disheartened by the news and rightly so. If these talks should come to bear fruit, then the result will be that students at Hexley Hall and other, similar institutions, shall not be permitted to use magic while not on school grounds, unless special permission is granted or the like."

There was the expected groan, but Sofia thought it made sense. Magic was dangerous, after all. There were plenty of wards in and around Hexley Hall to keep magic contained, whereas most places had no such measures, as magic wasn't common enough to justify the expense, or the energy, or something. While the magic was still potentially dangerous within the school's grounds, at least it wasn't _cataclysmic_ , as it very well could be without the protections. Not to mention, _here,_ at school, there was plenty of staff to take care of magical accidents if - no, _when_ \- they should happen.

There didn't seem to be much actual discussion from the class anymore, just vague murmuring to neighbors. "Well, that's enough of current events. Turning back to _more traditional_ history, I'd appreciate if you'd turn in your books to page ninety-two. We shall begin to cover the Freezenburger-Maldonian War today." The students let out a collective sigh but did so. Sofia was less enthused about history than actual _magic_ classes, though at least she wasn't so woefully behind here.

Still, it was better history than she'd ever learn in the village, magical or not. Also rather… disturbing, honestly. There had been some kind of uneasy truce for a while, until it was found people from Freezenburg were being sold as slaves to work in Mithril mines in Maldonia, but were passed off as casualties or prisoners of war in the former. Yikes. Sofia shivered and thought about how if this had happened fifty years later, it might have been her father, it might have been _her_ caught up in that. Sure, they were in Enchancia _now_ , not to mention that he was dead and also had maybe been a pirate, but… Yikes.

Partway through the class, a loud noise rang out from the hallway. Layton turned around from the chalkboard he'd been drawing a diagram on, showing how and why the Mithril in this raw state was dangerous to handle, to look at the door, and implicitly gave the student body permission to do the same.

Whatever it was that made the noise wasn't quite visible from the door, but there was a loud incantation - the words weren't quite discernable, though Sofia thought she knew the voice - and a loud _pomf_ of magic.

Layton sighed and, holding up a hand to keep the students in their seats, made his way to the door to see exactly what the problem was, and popped out of the classroom for a moment.

Sofia craned her neck around, hoping she had a good vantage point, but no luck.

A small puff of blue smoke appeared before Sofia, and a note fluttered down from it. " _Exciting, isn't it?_ " Greylock's note said-for it was probably his handwriting, and when Sofia turned to look at him he was grinning broadly and giving her a thumbs up. He hastily wrote at his desk and sent another poof her way - they couldn't be more than fifteen feet apart, was this necessary? Sofia rolled her eyes and looked at the new note. " _Magical interruptions never get old, and that's not even including the fact that they interrupt dull classes such as this_."

Sofia turned to face him, shrugged, and tried to smile, but was too nervous to spend too much energy on notes right now.

Momentarily, Professor Layton returned. "There is, in fact, a magical incident happening in the hallway, as I'm sure most of you have gathered. We are _likely_ just fine; however, reasonable caution, not to mention policy, dictate that we evacuate." _Yes, we've heard this before, Layton,_ Sofia thought, just a tad irritated at being treated like a child.

"The hallway is occupied by the incident. As such, we'll have to take the alternate route." That was new, at least. It wasn't particularly exciting, but Sofia was fine with that. Greylock looked disappointed when Layton opened a panel in the wall and led the students to an adjoining classroom, which opened on the hallway at the other side of the building. Well, technically the same hallway, but the other side of the square's edge, anyway.

Greylock looked wistfully at the windows in the far hallway and turned to Sofia. "Want to use a floating charm, jump, and say it was part of the drill?"

Sofia rolled her eyes and tugged him along without answering.

Eventually, they and the other classes were lined up on the brown lawn outside the building, and Layton was calling role. It was chilly out, chillier than it looked, and Sofia was glad she'd worn her robe, though she half wished it was Greylock's she'd chosen, given her friends were already giving her crap about it. ...On the other hand, that might seem too… no, not with her and Cedric as they were, and not with how fragile Cedric's ego tended to be. Not that he'd get jealous over Greylock, she imagined, not with how Grey was and the two were together, but… still. It didn't feel like a good idea.

Finally, one of the professors who apparently hadn't had a class at the moment, who'd apparently stayed behind to help fix whatever it was that happened, came out of the building to inform the other professors it was safe to return.

She was followed by a walking broom. The pushbroom had to take a lot of quick steps to make up for its short bristles, and one of its hands was occupied in holding a metal dustpan.

As it walked by the lines, it paused by Professor Layton's class, and waved frantically. Sofia recognized the broom, from her nighttime adventure with Cedric a few weeks ago.

She waved back, and it gave a thumbs up, and scuttled off to catch up with the professor, someone Sofia hadn't had. She was very large in about every way. Tall, thick, huge curly hair. _Pink_ curly hair. Perhaps she was part elf? Not that it was actually Sofia's business.

Interrupting her train of thought, Greylock said, "...What was _that_ about? You're friends with the brooms now?"

Sofia jumped and looked around, seeing that the students were slowly going back towards the building in loose groups. She started walking with Greylock and answered, "Iiit's a long story, actually."

Greylock scoffed and crossed his arms. "You're such a clam today, Sofia! Nothing on the wager, nothing now." He grinned and lightly elbowed her to show he wasn't upset, which was nice. She was nearly worried for a moment. "Keeping secrets from dear old me. What could you even have to hide, from _me_?" That… caught Sofia's attention, though she tried to cover her startle with a hopefully laugh less nervous than she felt, and by bringing her hand down to her side abruptly when she realized she was scratching at her neck.

"Ohh, you'll be the death of me, withholding these _oh so important_ tidbits of your daily life, I daresay." The awkward moment had passed, and hopefully Greylock hadn't noticed the moment existed in the first place.

Sofia was able to laugh genuinely, and nudged him back. "Oh, _please_ , like you tell me every little detail about _your_ days, either."

It was his turn to laugh awkwardly. "I don't believe you'd want to hear a rather lot of that, honestly."

Smirking, Sofia said, "Try me."

Greylock hesitated, and his cheeks colored. "...No, well. I'm not… really comfortable sharing-"

Sofia poked Greylock in the chest as they started the stairs back to their classroom on the third floor, and he nearly unbalanced. She didn't give him any sympathy, despite his expression, and just said, "Hah! You don't tell me everything either, _mister_."

...And then Greylock still looked a bit upset, avoiding her gaze as he said, "Trust me, Sofia, you're better off not knowing anyhow."

"Oh. I didn't mean to upset you, Grey, I'm sorry," Sofia said, and at the top of the flight of stairs, paused to look him in the eyes and put a hand on his arm. Good thing they were at the tail end of the group of students, she thought, or this would have had to wait until the moment had passed, and the damage done.

He was still blushing as he looked at her, but he smiled. "No harm, no foul, dear Sof. I'm just… _odd_ sometimes I suppose. A little like someone we know, hmm?" He laughed, a little too forcefully Sofia thought, but let it go. And anyway, this was Greylock, was there such a _thing_ as 'too much' when it came to what he did, what he felt like, how he expressed himself?

Sofia grinned and tried to take Greylock's arm, but he shrugged her hand off and looked away. Perhaps she had been right, but she didn't know how to fix this - she didn't know what, exactly, she'd done _wrong_. Well, that wasn't quite true, she pried into his life beyond what he shared willingly. But what, exactly, caused this sudden - oh, she was over thinking, he was probably just not feeling well. _Talk about turning into Cedric_ , she said, remembering Clover's words from the night she… the night a lot of things happened. 'Got the journal' would suffice for now.

Finally, they caught back up to the rest of the group and wandered back into the classroom, though Greylock seemed to be making a point of following Sofia somewhat closely, and was walking somewhat oddly. She couldn't figure out what _that_ could possibly indicate, as far as body language went, though somewhere within the realm of 'upset' seemed obvious, at least.

Layton counted heads as they walked in and took their seats, and gave a satisfied nod; then he looked at the clock, and gave a slight frown. "There isn't really enough time to continue the lesson for today, I'm afraid." The class gave a badly-stifled cheer. "I'm afraid you'll have to do the problems on your own, or at least not within class time." A badly stifled groan. "Don't forget my office hours, I'm always available to help a student in need. The remaining ten minutes are yours to do with what you wish, whether that's to catch up on reading, or-" By this point in his sentence, most of the students were already at the door. "-Yes, that is a valid option."

Sofia had been one of the few students who hadn't rushed for the door, though she was gathering her books, if slowly. Greylock also still sat, staring intently at the large text book open on his lap.

"Good to see you still here, Mister Thorburn," Layton said to Greylock, "I honestly expected you to be out with the rest of them - not to say that there's anything _wrong_ with that, mind. It's simply nice to see you dedicated to your studies, in the flesh."

Greylock looked up at Professor Layton, seemed to flinch a bit, nod, and turn his eyes downward towards the book again.

Layton nodded and looked over to Sofia. "You too, of course, Miss Balthazar, though your dedication is quite apparent regardless." He then went to personally address the other three students left, none of which Sofia knew particularly well.

By the time the bell rang, Greylock seemed to be in better sorts, at least. "I'm sorry about earlier," Sofia said, "I didn't mean to-"

Greylock cut her off. "Don't mention it. Really."

Sofia nodded. "So, I've got another class soon, but - do you want to swing by the drama department? It was hard to tell, but during the -it wasn't a drill, there was an actual magic accident, but what do you even call that?" Sofia shrugged. " _Aaanyway_ , I was trying to say I thought I saw some papers up on the door to the theater. Do you think the play's cast has been posted?"

Greylock hummed in thought, and said, "I do believe you might be right. Onward!" He grabbed her hand and took off towards the stairs, and she was barely able to keep up. She may not have been able to figure out what was wrong with him earlier, but at least he'd bounced back in record time.

Soon, breathless but excited, the two stood looking at the page on the stage room doors. The character names, and the play itself, were something that neither Greylock nor Sofia recognized - nor were they expected to, as the character names had things like "[Leading Role]" next to them.

One such label was on the same line as "Greylock Thorburn", and the boy let out a rather high-pitched squeal as he grabbed Sofia in a bear hug.

She hugged him back, then they looked for her name on the list. She was on the right side, rather than the left, of the female lead's name - and had the additional label, "[Understudy]".

They almost missed that she had a minor but non-understudy role as well. Greylock congratulated her, and she tried to feel excited, but it was dulled in comparison to Greylock's own role. It _shouldn't_ work like that, and she was probably not ready for a lead _anyway_. It would be good practice, at least, rehearsing as if she were.

"Well," she said, cheerfully, trying to mask her sinking heart, "I'd really better be off. But wow, _lead_! Aren't you something. Grats again, and seeya around!" She smiled and hurried off.

* * *

 **A/N: Shout-out to another fic in this chapter! If the author's not cool with that, I can take it out. Don't want to call out names, I just enjoy your work and am bad at showing it/being social. And to everyone, I hope you enjoy!**


	10. The Past Approaches

Cedric made his way through the empty hallways of the school building, for once contented. He'd gotten permission from his current Advisor to switch; now all he had to do was get Professor Layton to accept him as a thesis student.

The pleasant calm echos of the empty hallways were broken - or added to? - by the click of heeled shoes. Cedric didn't pay them mind, he knew he was well within his rights to be here.

That is, until a gratingly familiar voice reached his ears. "Nice to see you around, Lizard the Wizard. How's life treating you?" Cedric turned around to see that yes, it was in fact Sascha, with her long, curly red hair held up in a high ponytail, her hard eyes glaring at him above a smirk, her rigid spine and uplifted chin, the superior bearing in her posture.

As Cedric comprehended the words, his eyes widened in shock, then hardened into a squint. "I'm doing quite well, thank you," he lied. ...Somewhat lied. The last few days have actually been nice. First, there was making headway on his thesis, even if it was not on the paper itself. And, well, while he hadn't kissed Sofia again, not yet, they'd shared looks, and last tutor session was nice. He could bring a genuine smile to his face.

And he could deal with Sascha. "It is quite wonderful to see you, _dear_ , and I'd ask how you're doing - but I have neither the time nor any actual interest in your well being. Good day." He turned to face the way he'd been going originally, and started to walk.

She walked up and grabbed ahold of his wrist. "Oh, no you're not, _Lizzy._ You're not getting away that easy. Not after that little _delight_ , when you nearly cost me this prefect's position, end of last year. Not with an opportunity like _this,"_ and here Sascha gestured at the empty hallway around them, "for payback."

Opportunity? What could she - and then Cedric was on his rump and staring at the ceiling, and he could feel a lump forming on the back of his head. Above him, Sascha muttered - continued muttering? - something, and purple magic started pouring out of her wand. Purple? She was yellow, though, how could she do that? ...Well, regardless of 'how,' at least the 'why' was obvious. It figured.

Cedric tried to regain his feet on the now slippery floor, but couldn't seem to manage. Meanwhile, Sascha produced more of the purple magic, which was taking shape into a large black bird. Not… not actually either a raven or a crow, it didn't look right. Maybe a grackle? Its proportions and its stance were all wrong to be a large carrion bird, and the long tail leant support for the idea that it was a grackle.

The intent was plain, regardless of whether or not the bird was accurate.

Cedric gave up trying to stand and instead just reached for his wand. "Reverso!" he cried, pointing at the bird. It stopped growing, at least, but it didn't shrink, and it still had an aura of purple magic about it.

Sascha shrugged and started another spell, this one produced small, purple fireworks, which after bursting dissolved into sludge and muddied the floor.

"Disappearo, disappearo!" Cedric called out, doing his best to stop what was happening, but barely managing to stem the tide.

After the firework spell was up, Sascha seemed to just… disappear. There was probably an empty classroom she had hid in, but Cedric didn't see her go, he was too occupied with damage control - especially with how the fireworks seemed to be frightening the large, magical bird.

Professors started looking out of their classrooms and offices at some point. The sympathetic look Layton gave him made his stomach turn, but at least that was better than dismissal and derision.

Another professor was at his side, then, a large pink woman. She was casting the reversing and disappearing spells, and actually having a decent _effect_ , unlike Cedric. For his pride's sake, he didn't stop casting, but he knew it was pointless. A sentient broom joined them, and even it seemed to be doing more to help than Cedric himself was. His own creation, most probably, and it was outclassing him.

Then the magic was gone, he was ushered into an office, and left to stand and stew for a few minutes. Steep in his failure, and - while he hadn't seen any actual students in the hall, he was sure some had managed to see through the open doors of the classrooms. If nothing else, the chattier professors were likely to spread word of his failure, again.

This time wasn't even his fault. It wasn't his fault! No one would believe him, though. He'd not settle for summoning - or conjuring, he wasn't sure which- a grackle, a common _starling_ , but then who else cared for the difference between blackbirds. Would-be oracles, soothsayers of doom, probably, and ornithologists. But no one else.

Another screwup. And everyone would "know" he was in the center of it, regardless of the truth. One of his hands found his throat as he gulped, trying to swallow the shame, the anger, the shame, the failure. The shame. Massaging his throat, imagining - something slightly different. Breathing, slowly, steadily. A slight squeeze, tighter than strictly advisable, though of course no part of this was really 'advisable,' but it helped. It was the only thing that helped.

Cedric's hand flew to his side as the professor from before came back into her office. "Are.. you all right? Would you like some hot chocolate? You'll have to forgive me; I don't think I've had you in class before. What's your name?" She gestured towards a chair on the outside of her desk, and he finally sat down. That had been there the whole time, and he was too focused on - _not now._ He couldn't succumb to that while someone was around to see.

She looked at him expectantly, and realized he never answered. "Cedric, ma'am," he said. "That is, Cedric Sorciere. And I'm, ah, quite all right I suppose. I'll pass."

The professor shrugged - the nameplate on her desk said Professor Universe - and poured out a cup of chocolate for herself from a porcelain teapot on her desk. Or, rather, hot-chocolate-pot, Cedric supposed, though he was hardly amused in his current state.

"Mister Sorciere, I apologize for being blunt, but would you mind telling me what happened to cause the accident in the hallway?" she said, looking at him levelly over her cup.

"It wasn't a _mistake_!" he found himself saying, too loudly, too much of a whine in his voice, too high pitched. Then, he realized what it sounded like, and added, "And it wasn't even _me_. I know what it looks like, I do. But I am telling you, Professor, it- it _wasn't mee-he-he…_ " Cedric, shamefully, started sobbing his breaths, though there weren't any accompanying tears at least. "M-my… My ex-girlfriend, Sascha Nettle. I don't know how she did, but she _did_ , and e-e-even from the outside, the motive is obvious, isn't it?" He cast his eyes downward, towards his hands. "I don't expect you to believe me, Professor. But, but I need to at least - at least _try_." Cedric sighed, and drew his legs up onto the chair, hugging his knees and pointedly looking anywhere but at the teacher in front of him.

"I'm sure we can sort this out," came her voice, though with his head turned away, Cedric couldn't see the accompanying expression. "What were you doing in the hallways at that time, anyhow? It was well into the class period by the time this happened."

Cedric swallowed, willing his voice to return to a more level tone. "I only have two independent study classes and DA - er, that is, Dark Arts and Wicked Wizardry in the early mornings this year, none of which are officially held in this building. As such, the reason I was here was to visit Professors Tohsaka and Layton. I already spoke to Tohsaka, and obtained his permission to change my Advising Professor, regarding my thesis; I was on my way to wait by Layton's class, to see if I could catch a word with him between it and his next." _And to see Sofia and Greylock for a moment, maybe give her a quick hug or something, and if he was - unlucky? lucky?_ Cedric wasn't sure really _\- Greylock would try something himself._ Not that that had anything to do with anything.

Of course, that was all off the table now, and Cedric tried not to sigh.

"I see. I could get confirmation of this from Tokiomi if I went upstairs to see him now, yes?"

Cedric blinked and finally looked back at the woman in front of him. "Y-yes, ma'am, of course." He was used to being blamed for accidents, and he was used to lying through his teeth, but he _wasn't_ used to being _accused_ of lying, or covering up, or other shady activity. "I, I promise, Professor, I haven't spoken an untrue word here. On my honor." Cedric didn't _have_ any honor, not even the family honor he ought to have, but he crossed his heart with his finger anyhow.

She patted him lightly on the shoulder as she stood up. "Sit tight, young man." And with that, she left.

Apparently, she didn't even trust Cedric enough to wait until later to ask Professor Tohsaka. He felt the pit in his stomach, at yet another level of shame, incompetence, at which he simply wasn't good enough. His hands curled inward and withdrew, and he dragged them across his face. He hesitated, then forced them away, putting his feet back in the floor and his hands in his lap. He wouldn't fall into that again, in _public_ even. He'd nearly been caught a few minutes ago, he didn't want anyone figuring anything _out_. No, no, Cedic needed to remember to _internalize_ those thoughts, to act on them - if only in part, as if he were merely playing, even though each time he was deadly serious - only in the safety of his room, and even then only when Greylock was safely asleep.

When he was trying to sleep at a decent time, when he didn't push himself to the point of exhaustion, that's when he needed it all most, anyhow. When memories of his foibles and his flaws, of his _failures_ , would swirl and stir into themselves, and pour themselves over his consciousness, like a potion spilled while brewing.

 _But today wasn't his fault._ ...No one else would see it that way. He'd be a pariah, mocked yet again, with new fervor. No doubt Sascha would spread that name again, that once-cute nickname, once affectionate. Now the name was just a remnant of a time gone by, thankfully, was a memory better left dead.

...So there wasn't really a better time to spend _even more_ time under Professor Layton, honestly. Not to mention, at least Greylock wouldn't contribute to the mockery, and Sofia _couldn't_ , not that particular bit, given that she didn't know.

At that point, Professor Universe came back. "I've officially talked to Tokiomi, who vouched for you. You seem a fine young man, Mister Sorciere, and I _did_ see Miss Nettle skulking about. We've nothing but your word that she did it… But she doesn't seem to be coming forward to accuse you, either. So I'm not going to mark you down for anything. Officially, you were still speaking to Professor Tohsaka when this happened. All right?" She gave him a wink.

It took Cedric a few seconds to digest and react to this information, and even then he was conflicted. On the one hand, he wasn't getting any official marks on his record. Not that _most_ magic accidents were able to be tracked as such, but that usually meant that those that _did_ have an obvious culprit were dealt with all the more fervently. On the other hand, Sascha was still bound to spread the rumor, not to mention any other professors that might have seen the hallway - if there were any? Cedric couldn't remember. Regardless, word was likely to get out one way or another that Something Happened, that he was there, and that he was not punished.

...Not that he was wholly free from nepotism, though in his defense the room situation was also a matter of safety. Still.

There seemed to be more words exchanged after that, though Cedric couldn't remember what he'd said - if he'd said anything - before being dismissed. Hopefully something along the lines of "thank you, ma'am," or the like, though he came back to himself quite too late to ask.

Well, that was draining. Time to abandon all previous plans and focus on recharging.


	11. Something Bad

Greylock watched Sofia hurry away, then turned back to look at the cast sheets again. He scanned the list for a third time and - ah! Jamie Postman was probably his fellow. A secondary character, it looked like. Hopefully there wouldn't be bad blood over the casting between them. ... _Hopefully_ there could be - well - no, Greylock couldn't figure out how to make that a joke after all, not unless he was into blood play, which he decidedly was not. There had been something about get the blood pumping, but that didn't work very well with the 'bad blood' joke, and just… Nah, it was a good thing no one else was around, or he'd have _verbally_ botched this joke, and wouldn't that have been something!

It occurred to Greylock, at that point, that neither he nor Sofia mentioned or, presumably, noticed any information regarding when the first meeting of the drama club - at least those accepted here - would _be._ There was a date and a time at the bottom, in small print. Greylock rolled his eyes, and made a note to drag Sofia to this one, too At least it was later in the day, and unlikely to interrupt another of Cedric's tutoring sessions.

But for now, Greylock decided to use his free hour between classes for the day to go eat lunch. He often did regardless, but all those extra stairs really got his blood pumping- in a rather different way than his attempted joke would have implied, of course- not to mention… _certain thoughts_ of Cedric that Greylock really wished Sofia hadn't asked about. It was bad enough that he gave in to such things occasionally, in private, but now they were coming unbidden at any mention of things that could possibly relate.

Greylock glanced downward and was at _least_ , thankfully, able to confirm that this time around the burning in his face was the only obvious sign of physical...hmm. Discomfort wasn't the right word exactly, but if he thought too long and hard about - _no._ No jokes either. None of that would help avoid more _incidents_ , at least not for the moment.

 _Food. Just think about food. Go to the refectory and get a plate of food and eat it and don't get anything phallic._

So Greylock walked with a determined pace to Goodwyn House and its refectory, and was well on his way to making good on his promises - commands? - to himself, when he saw Cedric seated at one of the long tables. For lunch hour, the year assignments weren't kept, as there were far too few students at any one time for it to matter. Still, Cedric sat at the Year 13 table. Alone.

Guilty conscience aside, Greylock couldn't very well just _leave_ Cedric like that. So he sat down next to Cedric and said, "Greetings, Bed-quick!" ...Wait, wait. Sarumon's Stockings that didn't make much sense, unless taken as a dirty joke. ...Well, it's not as if they hadn't gotten past things misunderstood as or not-as jokes before. "To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing your _fine_ face this afternoon, gracing the refectory in the afternoon sunlight for once in the rare blue moon?" Well, ah… at least it wasn't sexual this time. And _everything_ was a joke with him _anyway,_ at least according to Cedric. He wasn't going to ruin anything, everything could be _taken_ as a joke, and he should stop worrying.

Cedric looked at him, and was as outwardly unenthused about his presence as usual. However, he didn't look irritated, but… Generally down. He moved slowly, and didn't bother to tut in Greylock's direction, barely bothered to _look_ at him.

"Cedric, are you… quite all right?"

Cedric sighed. "I - I'm f...fine… I just…" He gulped, and looked back at Greylock, eyes wider than usual, clearly not fine. "No, nevermind, I can't very well pretend in this state. I'm not. I _won't_ be all right." He looked back to his plate and pushed around some food with his fork. "Ah, that is, don't - don't worry, it's not life threatening, or anything." Cedric closed his eyes for a moment and a sharp breath escaped him - was that a laugh? Was that a small smile? It was gone before Greylock could really tell, and Cedric kept talking, interrupting any questions forming in Greylock's head. "Not deadly, just… _otherwise_ awful."

"Would it help to talk about it?" Greylock asked, not sure how else to help, and hoping he could be more specific in his aid if he knew exactly what the problem was.

"Perhaps." Cedric said, and sighed. "I- I- I was-" He broke off and took a breath. "S-Sascha, she-"

 _Oh._ Well it was little wonder, then.

Cedric put his hands over his face, made a few incoherent noises before managing words again. "It's awful, it's _awful_. I'm, I'm never fond of being confronted, of being - being made to look the _fool_ but _today_ -" He stopped speaking, just heaving long, shuddering breaths, and his hands slowly curled themselves into fists over his eyes, fingers pressing down into his face as they did, clenched tightly when they finished.

Greylock tapped the table by Cedric's hand in lieu of touching him. "No need to force it, friend," he said, "If you'd like to try later, when you're further from the issue, that's perfectly all right. Let's head back to our room, though perhaps dry your eyes before we move. I won't be able to stick around for terribly long, I'm afraid. Class. Not that I mind skipping a class here or there, you know that, but I've already burned through most of my grace period on that… I do believe Professor Leopold would kill me if I were tardy again, let alone truant." Greylock laughed, and hoped he was helping lighten the mood.

Instead, Cedric looked at him and blinked. "Dry my eyes?"

"Ah, yes." Greylock had tried to bury that, had expected maybe Cedric would take him up on the offer without having to acknowledge it. Though, as Cedric looked at Greylock, the other boy's eyes were clear. There was a small scrape near the corner of one of them, a whitish line with a small dot of red in the middle, but none of the pink puffiness, none of the bloodshot quality to the eyes themselves, that Grey had expected. "I- Well, I _thought_ you were holding back tears, there? Apologies for the 'accusation' as it were." Cedric flinched at the word. Boromir's Brassiere, Greylock seemed to be putting his foot in his mouth today. "That is, I-"

Cedric cut Greylock off. "No, no, you're right. Quite right! That is definitely what I was doing there, just _do_ try to be quiet about that. Would hate to be caught crying, hah!" _...So why would he admit that to Greylock, then? When he was given an out, a way to say, 'ah, you're right, I wasn't starting to'._

"Though, ah, perhaps going to our room isn't the best idea," Cedric said.

Greylock tilted his head. "Why not?"

"Well, there's, ah…" Cedric paused, and seemed to ponder. A small smile, a mirthless laugh. "My point had been that there was nothing I'd do _there_ any more than here, but I'm not _eating_ , and I suppose I actually would like access to my herbs, after all. Mix up a potion, see if I feel any better." The set of Cedric's eyes, the slight wrinkling of his nose, and Cedric's smile didn't look particularly happy about this idea.

"Yes! See? If you can't think of anything, I could help." Greylock smiled broadly, hoping it would help Cedric even just a bit, and took a hold of his and Cedric's plates. "Let's toss the rest in the bin and go, hm?"

Slowly, Cedric stood up and followed. "I can think of several things, the difficulty would be in picking."

"Aww, but doing things for friends is _fun_ , isn't it? You could make me, I don't know… Maybe some of that Elixir of Manliness?"

For the first time since Greylock had come to talk to Cedric that afternoon, Cedric looked like his usual, sharp self, at least a little. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at Greylock with a small scowl and asked, "What in Gaia's green earth would you need _that_ for?"

 _Finally!_ "Oh, I don't know, who couldn't stand to be a bit more manly, mm? I hear athletes use it to increase performance, though that tends to be frowned upon." Cedric kept his eyebrow up, but shrugged.

"Then again," Greylock continued, "I suppose _I_ ' _m_ no athlete." Greylock put a hand on his soft belly and laughed. He wasn't a pile of jelly, and he could certainly pull his weight - figuratively at least, he wasn't sure about literally, but he figured self-deprecating humor should at least be able to take Cedric's mind off his own troubles. Cedric didn't seem to find it amusing, though.

"Or, oh, I know! Maybe some sort of glamour potion?" Greylock paused for a beat. "Not the disguise kind, though perhaps that might be useful for the play… But no, no, maybe just something to make me a little more attractive, give me a little more panache, a little flair. That sounds delightful!"

Another blink, an eyebrow went back up - Greylock hadn't seen Cedric lower it, but upwards it went now - and Cedric asked, "Again, what do _you_ need _that_ for?"

It was Greylock's turn to blink. What did… Was Cedric saying he was good-looking? That was...nice to know. It would have been _nicer_ to know any time in the past several years but-.. On the other hand, feeding this doomed crush was probably a poor decision.

"L-Lots of things. I do know I'm pretty _grand_ on my own, but I'm the lead in the play, as it turns out! Make the audience fall in love with me. And oh, this fellow I met in auditions, maybe I could catch his eye again, just _dazzle_ him not only with natural radiance, but _your_ help - only if you want, of course." There. He wasn't stepping on any toes, he wasn't

Cedric stiffened his shoulders and stopped walking, in the hallway where their shared room was but hardly next to their door. "That seems _unnecessary,_ " he said, but this time there was venom behind it. "Greylock the Grand, Greylock the _Gorgeous_ , Greylock the _Gregarious_." Cedric paused and put a hand in the air, two fingers and a thumb coming together at the tip to slightly resemble a beak, miming speech as he continued in a high voice, " _Grey_ , darling, won't you come to my party? Oh please have lunch with us, _Grey_. Please, spend time with us, _Grey_! Just make sure not to bring that lousy roommate."Cedric took back his hand, placing it on his hip, and added, "And anyhow, isn't the play supposed to be some sort of _competition_? That sounds like _cheating_."

"I-" Greylock found himself at a loss for words. This didn't happen. He didn't just not have a response. "Well, I suppose it would be cheating," he said, though he knew that was the wrong thing to say, but only after it was out there, only after it had already hurt Cedric even more.

"Hmph." Cedric looked away from Greylock and crossed his arms. "I'm not sure why you even bother with me, honestly. I've got Sofia, now. You don't have to feel _guilty_ about leaving me alone and friendless anymore! Though I'm not sure if you feel anything but childish frivolity, anyway. Yes, we have some _things_ in common, but it's clear no one cares about that sort of thing when it's _you_." Cedric was still facing the wall, but he folded his arms back out from himself and started gesticulating to nothing as he spoke. "I can't even blame the bloodline or the money - sure you've a noble parent, but _royal sorcerer!_ And the purse that comes with that! It's pretty clear they just prefer _you._ I don't see why you'd bother with a washed-up disappointment like me aside from that guilt, that misplaced kindness towards 'those less fortunate,' or whatever it is you think you're doing here." With that, he started walking again, without waiting for Greylock to respond, and pulled out his room key on the way.

Greylock wasn't too far behind, though he had to recover for a moment. Cedric had closed the door after himself, which automatically locked, forcing Greylock to dig for his own key before entering.

Cedric turned from where he was setting up his portable cauldron to look at Greylock. "Leave!" he said, grabbed one of the jars of herbs that was next to the cauldron on the desk, and chucked it in Greylock's direction. The glass shattered on the wall somewhere behind him. "I _know_ you want to. You have my explicit permission to go enjoy your lunch in peace. I'm fine, I'm about to be _better_ than fine, if you'll just leave me _be_. I won't be a bother to you as a roommate if you go, in case _that's_ your concern. Just-" Cedric stopped, turned back around and leaned heavily on the desk - more of a standing slump, really, supported by one hand, head bowed low. "Please. Go."

Greylock walked slowly towards Cedric. This time, Greylock thought he actually saw the sparkle of tears, though he wasn't about to make that mistake twice. Another step, two. Cedric didn't move.

Cedric physically as Greylock wrapped him in a hug from behind. "What in the nether are you doing," Cedric said in a flat voice, without interrogative lilt. "I told you to-"

"I'm not going anywhere, Cedric," Greylock said. "I'm never letting you go, no matter what. Whatever happens. I'm not letting go. Also, I'm not _physically_ letting go until you're willing to acknowledge that I'm not going to metaphorically go."

There was silence. for a moment. "You're serious, aren't you," Cedric finally said, though he didn't sound angry.

"Deadly serious," Greylock said. "I'll loosen my hug here so you can face me if you want, but no. I'm not letting go until you say it. I won't leave you. I won't. I know there's nothing I could do if you wanted to leave me behind." He paused for a beat. "Well, I could follow you. I would, probably. To wherever. You mean more than you know, Cedric, and I will never take away whatever support I can offer."

Greylock loosened his grip as promised, but Cedric did not turn, or move much at all. His hand curled into a fist on the desk, and tears definitely started to fall, but that was it.

Perhaps this wasn't the best idea. Especially since he was apparently bad at choosing words that could communicate the depth of his feeling without the specific nature of it. Cedric probably wouldn't notice, at least, though there was.. _still_ , against his better judgment, some small part of him that hoped Cedric would decide to look at him, would find how close their faces were. They'd see the light sparkle in each other's eyes, the moment right… But no, no, a larger part of Greylock would - would deny that, would backtrack and call them brothers, would remind Cedric of Sofia's similar feelings. There was the fact, though, that hers were requited.

Greylock thought about loosening his grip further, letting Cedric go, but it was too late. Cedric might be uncomfortable, but the message that would send, after what he'd just said - no. Unless Cedric forced him back, he'd stick to it.

"You… really won't leave?" Cedric finally said, and moved a hand to rest on the lip of his cauldron. " _Why_ won't you leave me be? _Please_ don't leave me alone."

"I won't leave, you have my word. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." Greylock didn't get the chuckle he'd hoped for. "...I'm willing to let go now if you want, though."

Cedric took a moment. He swallowed. His hand gripped the edge of the cauldron, then suddenly pushed it aside. It didn't go very far, what with as heavy as it was, but that wasn't the point, Greylock supposed. Just expressing emotions. "And we say, 'not today,'" Cedric muttered towards the cauldron.

"What was that?" Greylock said, "I'm sorry, I don't follow." He started to withdraw his arms from around Cedric.

Cedric grabbed one of Greylock's arms, but still didn't turn around. "Just… something I read in a novel, nevermind me." No mention of the arm.

Still, the message was clear enough. Greylock leaned back into the hug, squeezed Cedric once more, this time resting his chin on Cedric's shoulder-albeit via tiptoe.

Greylock didn't know how long they stayed like that, but eventually Cedric shrugged him off. "Haven't you got a class to get to, or something," Cedric said.

A glance at his watch told Greylock, who relayed the information, "Not yet. I've a little more time." And Cedric was in a worse state than he'd originally thought, so he'd just deal with Professor Leopold later and help Cedric as much as he needed now.

"I'm…" Cedric stepped away from Greylock and sat on the bed, then looked up to meet Greylock's eyes. "I'm actually all right now. You needn't worry." Greylock sat down next to Cedric and cocked his head. "Well. I suppose 'all right' is a bit strong. But I'm not - I'm not in whatever _that_ was. What a mystery that was! I'm glad that is definitely over forever and never going to come up again."

If anything that was more worrying than not… but then, the fact that he was acting like his normal, snarky self was good. "Are you quite certain?" Greylock asked

"Most positively. I'll even, ah-" Cedric bit his lip as he cut himself off. "I… don't know how to show you that I am, but yes, I'm fine. I think… I might take a nap, actually. All this-" Cedric twirled his hand in a circle, indicating the whole room, though probably meaning it rather less physically, "-has been quite exhausting."

Greylock smiled at that. "Would you like me to tuck you in, Ceddykins?"

Cedric glared at him for that, but the way his mouth was twisting, Greylock knew he was fighting a smile. "I'm not in _primary_ school, thank you very much. It is my prerogative to do what I want with my free time, especially as it affects my health, and if I want to take a nap on a sunny afternoon, then by Merlin's beard I'll do it." Yes, it was still antagonistic, but the tone clearly indicated to Greylock that Cedric was arguing at this point mostly for the sake of argument.

"All right, all right. Sleep well, dream nice things… Send me the answers to my DAWW 1 quiz with your magic sleepy mind powers." Cedric rolled his eyes but - _finally_ \- smiled.

"I have no such powers, but I appreciate the confidence. ...Misplaced, given the fact I barely maintained a high C last year, and am struggling to get above a low one _this_ year. In fact, if I _did_ have such powers, I think I'd end up doing you more harm than good."

Greylock lightly nudged Cedric in the side. "Oh, you worrywort. You'll be fine, you always are."

Cedric's smile faded a bit as he shrugged, but he said playfully, "Now shoo, before I throw more dittany at you." He blinked, and looked at the mess on the floor near the door. He kept staring at it as he resumed speaking, "...That, ah… was unfortunate. I'll clean that up later. Careful on the way out, and I might not have woken to get to it when you come back, so be mindful."

Greylock put a hand on Cedric's shoulder and smiled, then stood up. "Well, then. I'm off, so you can get your beauty sleep - and yes, I'll be careful. Good… after-night?"

Cedric rolled his eyes, then rolled over to flop into a laying position on his bed. "What sort of a word is _that_? Oh well. After-night."


	12. Wonderful

Normally, Sofia liked Health class. It seemed to be an amalgam of what she had picked up about general mundane health in Dunwiddee - though more refined, more scholarly, more regular; and first aid, mostly focusing on the magical side, though not without nonmagical elements.

Normally, Sofia enjoyed talking with her classmates. In particular, she and Steven, the star of the class, enjoyed either talking about things to read or how to do the day's lesson, though he wasn't the best at explaining. He put such energy into the class, and it radiated to those around him.

Normally, Sofia even enjoyed the occasional tittering about how cute Professor Wrynn was with the other girls, not to mention with Steven.

 _Normally_ , Sofia wasn't trying to push down feelings of inadequacy and all that came with it. She was better than a bit part and all of the work but none of the rewards of an understudy. Even… just a secondary speaking role would have been nice. Of course, that _could_ still be the case. It probably was, right? Yeah! The fact that it was in not the second section, but the third, and in the smallest print probably didn't mean much. It wasn't as if they'd give the village girl a part to keep her mouth shut, but make sure she wouldn't do much on stage. Rationalize it as 'oh, well, you'll have a lot to do, learning the lead, so we don't want to burden you with anything else too large." She'd definitely never heard such rationalizations before.

"'Sup, Sof? You okay? You seem a little distracted," Steven said, poking her shoulder to get her attention.

Sofia jumped at the touch. "I, uh, yeah! I'm fine, just…daydreaming is all!" Technically not a lie. Sofia tried to refocus on her work.

There was a small break between her classes, then, and she decided to get a snack from the cafe. The refectories were still open for lunch, if only barely, but she needed something to convince herself that she was _fine_ , she was _great_ , that she should stop being down about something so silly.

The next class didn't go any better for Sofia, even with the pastry. Her mind was still wandering, worrying, and she was focusing on forcing that down, smiling if she could, pretending to pay attention. This resulted in her not paying any attention whatsoever. She found herself doodling in the margins of her books or note paper, though not as she did when bored - she wasn't very good at art, but she tried to draw cute things, especially cute animals. Granted, her definition of 'cute' included 'everything that wasn't actively trying to eat her, and some things that were,' but that was beside the point. Today's doodles, though, were more abstract. Deeply lined, scribbly circles from where she just moved the pencil around without paying much attention to it, either. When she noticed, she stopped, and almost aggressively added ears and eyes and whiskers to make them cats, or maybe birds, or whatever.

Sofia decided to skip her last class of the day, it's not like she'd learn much in this state, anyhow. And when she came in tomorrow claim a - stomach bug would be too easy to disprove. Headache should work.

Sofia felt a slight tingling on her chest and nearly doubled over in pain as a headache hit her like… like something physically hit her, she didn't know, it was too painful to think right now.

" _Fine_! Fine," she whispered perhaps a bit loudly to her Amulet. "I'll go to class. Ow, what the f-fffish." Yes, perfect recovery. Seriously, though, she'd prefer to use odd curses than ones seen as uncultured. ...Hey, maybe animal inserts could be her _thing_ , though, like Cedric used various pantheons of gods, and Greylock used figures of Silmarillion lore, though they also had the secondary elements - (usually) edible plant bits or undergarments. Sofia had no idea what hers might be.

This wasn't helping the headache go away. "I'm _going_." Still painful, so Sofia stood straight, turned around, and went to class.

The pain persisted until her rump touched the seat, at which point it entirely disappeared. Sofia rolled her eyes and sighed.

Irritation at the Amulet didn't help her mood, or her attention span. She wasn't sure what the _point_ of being here was, but at least she wasn't ill.

Finally, though, she was able to go back to her dorm and just unwind. She thought briefly about starting on her homework, but that wouldn't go any better, not with her primary concern, frivolous and illogical as it was, being her poor mood. At this point it wasn't even as much about the casting, though that certainly still stung. No, she was upset _that_ _she was_ upset, and it was stupid, and silly, and a pointless vicious circle.

She sat on her bed and huffed, then looked back towards her bookbag. Well. She wasn't going to study, or do homework, and she had some time before they were due. But maybe she could manage to feel better before she got to sleep tonight, reading the idle thoughts of a certain someone.

Sofia fished the journal out of her bag and opened it to her bookmark, settling in to read.

The first page she looked at had a poem. There weren't any editorial markings on it, so Sofia looked down to the bottom of the page, and sure enough there was a note of the author. Some guy called Tennyson. She looked back up to read the poem, and laughed as the recognized the first line. "With blackest moss the flower pots were thickly crusted, one and all," she whispered to herself. Hopefully low enough that others couldn't hear it, this time, but she found it hard to just _not_ say anything at all. So low volume would have to do.

Sofia put her finger to her chin as she tried to place it, giving a small gasp when she did. "Pygmalion, that's it! Or… at least one version I remember. I wonder if… Nah, probably not."

After that was a small wall of text in uneven lines.

 _Why must Cordelia do this? She has plenty of her_ _own_ _things, why must she insist on taking mine? Of course, I know the answer, but it's so infuriating. Father always takes her side, of course he does. Mummy tries to be supportive of me, but doesn't see much particular fault in Cordelia either, and requires solid proof of guilt to do anything punitive, regardless. Today, she used an unlocking spell for the first time. I don't know what she took, but that's rather worse than not. She might not have taken anything, but I doubt that very much._

 _Even my own room is no longer sacred. I'll have to hide the Elixir, or perhaps just keep it on me at all times, not to mention this book._

By the time Sofia realized she was reading a diary entry, it was too late to go back, to un-read, to not know. She wasn't entirely sure why _this_ felt like an invasion of privacy, but the rest of the book didn't. On that note, though, she looked down at her chest, the spot where her amulet hung under layers of clothing.

The Amulet remained inert.

Well, all right. So she didn't need to feel guilty after all. So she was free to wonder about this. Cedric had a… was that a sister? Could be a cousin, though probably not, unless there were some special circumstances. And even then, it sounded like the dynamic was that of a sister, regardless of blood. Sofia supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that she didn't know of this sister, as Cedric wasn't the chattiest fellow on topics he didn't especially like, and definiteively tight-lipped on those he specifically _dis_ liked. Still.

On the other hand, there was also this mysterious Elixir mentioned. Potions and alchemy were his field, right? Then again, if he was hiding it from his sister, it made sense he'd perhaps hide it from her, too, at least for a while? If it was even still relevant. None of the entries were dated, after all, so it could have been as simple as an experiment he'd been doing at the time.

After that, there was a small paper stuck between the pages. It was labeled 'Elixir of Manliness,' and had a neatly written list of ingredients on one side, and directions on the other.

Sofia rolled her eyes and grinned. "Ah, fragile masculinity." Sofia wondered if this was that same Elixir as before. Probably not, she had no basis for that any more than she would have if he'd mentioned… a necklace, perhaps an amulet, and then history on a notable one. ...Perhaps that wasn't the best example. Still, it was likely coincidence.

Behind the paper was another tea recipe: specifically, 'Masculini-tea'. She laughed again. Wasn't that a bit excessive? ...On second thought, no. While the next several pages were filled with different versions of the same tea, with ingredients lined through and (mostly illegible) notes in the margins, the one thing that stayed consistent was that the first ingredient in the list was the Elixir. Heh, combining alchemy and tea. What a cute idea. ...Though, apparently the balance of Masculini-tea, as evidenced by the apparent failures of brewing which the numerous pages of it implied...was rather _fragile._ ...All right, that joke wouldn't make sense to anyone but her, but it was still satisfying enough to make her chuckle.

The dedication to getting the tea to taste right or whatever was also rather sweet. Sofia wondered if it would be literally sweet? She couldn't remember if he took sugar in his tea when she saw him drink it, which admittedly wasn't often. There was the night she acciden- no. No, reframe that. The night she went on a date with him. Which was the relevant bit here, anyway, when she went to eat with him. Did he drink his tea sweet like a dessert or bitter like medicine? ...She'd have to ask.

That dedication did beg the question, though: why bother to make a tea of it? While it was creative, it seemed unnecessary, especially given how most potions were taken directly out of the bottle. And what even was it _for_? Was he trying to grow a beard, or get super strength, or… What else did she associate with masculinity? A distaste for shopping and 'girly drinks'? ...Which were often bright and sugary, so maybe Sofia had her answer on the tea. Silly as this all seemed, it actually was fun to ponder.

She heaved a contented sigh, finally feeling better. Not _entirely_ , the casting still stung, but she wasn't in the slump she had been earlier, cheered up by Cedric, if by proxy.

...She maybe _could_ work on homework now, but maybe he'd be up for sneaking out? She put the book in the drawer of her bedstand, locked it, and looked at the clock there. Oh, there was actually still plenty of time to go out officially, sneaking not required. She put on her robe - as opposed to Greylock's, maybe she'd use that while sneaking...out… _No, that would look even_ worse _, wouldn't it? Maybe she should just take it back to him, though?_ Yeah, she'd do that. Oh but first she needed to put away the diary, and straighten her things, ooh this ribbon was cute and Cedric's color she could put that in her hair, and then...

Sofia didn't end up taking Greylock's robe, though that was out of forgetfulness rather than devious intent. She did, admittedly, feel like she'd forgotten something, but it wasn't until the next morning she realized what it was.

She skipped out of the dorm, then, singing to herself a little ditty she remembered from the village that seemed fitting, "I'm off to see the wizard…"

* * *

Early evening light streaked through the windows of their room as Cedric told Greylock the story. "So, of course I - I was trying to stop it. Minimize damage, at the least. Reverso, Disappearo, Reducto. Mostly Disappearo, of course. It's tricky to make _stick_ but given it does the most by far of the easily performed counterspells…" He shrugged, and Greylock nodded for him to continue. "As you can imagine, little-miss- _thorny_ was nowhere to be found by the time anyone showed up to clean up what now appeared to be 'my' mess, even though it _wasn't_." Cedric huffed in irritation.

Greylock, for some gods-awful reason, smiled. Cedric was about to say something, but Greylock managed first. "Well, at least you made _her_ disappear-o, hmm?"

Cedric felt the color drain from his face. "I- I _what?_ Oh Merlin's Mushroom, I, I…" He gulped. "Does th-that.. Would that make me a _murderer?_ I don't suppose she'd, she'd be truly dead but-"

Greylock cut him off. "Cedric, calm down! It was a _joke_. Though apparently a bad one. Disappearo can't do that, not unless she herself was a spell. And, on the _off chance_ that that were the case, it would probably take something rather stronger than _disappearo_ to dispell her. You're _not_ a murderer, Cedric. No one's dead, or even disappeared. Hiding, maybe, at worst."

Cedric glanced over at the small cauldron on his desk. _For today._ Then he faced Greylock again. "Yes, well, in summary, I… I did my best, but as it happens, my 'best' is slightly worse than everyone else's 'average'." He huffed a sigh.

"Don't think like that, that's not the case at _all_ ," Greylock said. "You were stressed, and surprised." _And still a little shocked by the old name,_ Cedric added mentally, but made no outward indication. "Anyone in your situation would have trouble."

WIth a snort, Cedric said, "Yes, well, Miss Universe seemed to have no trouble cleaning up my mess. With an actual broom in tow, too. One of mine. Add insult to injury, see if I care!" He avoided looking at Greylock as he pouted. This was an immature way to deal with this, but he didn't really know how else to react.

Greylock's voice was calm, perhaps a little patronizing. "Cedric, that's because _she's a professor._ She has so many years of experience on you, not to mention she wasn't being personally attacked, verbally or physically." Definitely patronizing. ...Definitely not. Oh, blast his overthinking.

After a few moments of silence, Cedric admitted, "I… do suppose you're right."

"Of course I am!" Greylock said with a grin. "Still, I can't believe her. How childish. So this is revenge for the spaghetti ordeal, you said?"

Cedric nodded. "She mentioned something about it, in… in between the name-calling."

Greylock made a noise deep in his throat. "That too? Ugh. Are we sure she's actually your Year? I think she might have been placed wrong, she doesn't act her age at all."

"That wasn't… quite…" Cedric gulped, trying to mentally regroup, to steel himself, to make himself say it. ...Did he actually want to say this, anyway?

Greylock tilted his head at Cedric. "Wasn't what now?"

A deep breath, and Cedric found his courage. "She… said… old names. 'Lizard the Wizard,' and 'Lizzy', in particular."

Greylock's eyes and mouth opened wide for a moment, before his eyes hardened and stared at something nonspecific over Cedric's shoulder, mouth setting itself into a thin line. And then even that passed, and Greylock's hand was on Cedric's arm, his eyes neither wide nor squinting but the brows above knitted into a worried - compassionate - _something_ expression, looking into his eyes.

Cedric blinked and looked away as Greylock said, "Don't listen to her. She is the _actual worst._ And likely to get a faceful of magic next time I see her, how _dare_ she?"

Greylock stood up and walked a few paces from Cedric. His fists clenched and his stance in general seemed to stiffen - or coil, perhaps. Not literally, but as in winding a clock, or a snake, pressing down a spring. Potential energy.

And then it unwound. "How dare," escaped Greylock, but it was less volatile than before. A deep breath in, then out.

It was nice to know he wasn't taking _this_ as a joke, at least. Where and when it - well, Cedric could think of a good number of times it would also have counted, such as last winter or that one conjuring competition, among others - but this would have been so much worse.

"So," Cedric said, "do you think, within your philosophy of the world, that Sascha could come back from this?" That was pointlessly harsh, but after the memory of that _joke_ , apparently Cedric just couldn't resist.

Greylock turned around to look at him, eyes blinking and mouth slightly open. It moved, and Cedric assumed he was looking for the words to say, but failing to find them. Served him right, though; it was a stupid philosophy.

"Maybe," Greylock started, and Cedric rolled his eyes and turned away. "Perhaps, if she chose to reconcile in the first place… With years of hard work, she _could_ change. It does happen. Not that it could happen _soon_. And of course, nothing would be quite the same. You can reconcile with someone, and still be wary. Forgive, yes, but don't forget."

A knock at the door interrupted Cedric's train of thought, his piecing together the wording of whatever his retort would be. The general feeling of the retort itself, minus the general ' _no that's dumb_ ,' was even gone.

Greylock got the door, given he was already standing, and found Sofia standing there. Well, better than anyone else it could have been. By far, actually. "Hi guys!" she said, though her face and voice fell quickly after the initial greeting. "Uh, is this a bad time?"

Cedric bit his lip as he considered. Greylock looked back at him, waiting for an answer. He weighed his emotions, and found it was really nice to see Sofia: someone who wasn't everything he was but better, someone who loved him and wanted him without pushing their - well, she didn't have a pithy saying, but she actually _did_ tend to push her rosy worldview on him. Still, it wasn't forced so much as a side effect of being around her, unlike _some_ people.

"Come in, Sofia," Cedric said, finally, and Greylock stepped away from the door to let her in.

She didn't move. "I had actually come to see if you had wanted to do something tonight. If you want me here I can stay, but I didn't have anything specific to say…"

"Cedric had a - rather bad day," Greylock said. _Understatement isn't like him, heh,_ Cedric mentally responded, before Greylock continued, "Now isn't an especially good time for much; as for the latter, I believe Cedric already answered that?"

Both he and Sofia looked to Cedric, who nodded silently.

"All right," Sofia said, and went to sit in Cedric's desk chair, turning it to face him on the bed. "I don't know how I can help, but I'm willing to try?" Then she looked to the side and sniffed a small laugh. "I suppose this is an ill omen for illicit night escapades in the future, isn't it."

Cedric shrugged. "Not- not tonight, Grey is, ah, qu-quite right about that." Why was he stuttering _now_? Ugh. "Perhaps, though, a-at... a later date? It, well, it was sort of exciting last time, I suppose. Though, though perhaps we should obtain a _map_ for our marauding about before then."

Sofia's eyes twinkled in the increasingly necessary candlelight, and she smiled a smile that warmed Cedric's poor heart. "I don't know, Wormwood seemed to know his way about well enough. We could just use him as a guide again. ...I'm not sure how _that_ works, him being you and all, but whatever."

Cedric shrugged his shoulders a bit, intending to be noncommittal, though he wasn't sure how he actually came off. "Probably something I do know, subconsciously, but can't recall on a whim?" he pondered. "Who knows. Familiars can be strange."

Greylock added, from the other side of the room, "Or it could be a simple matter of vantage, given he can fly." _Oh. That it could._ Not that Cedric was about to admit he hadn't managed to think of something so obvious.

Despite the slight awkwardness of that, the moments of silence that followed felt quite comfortable to Cedric, at least until broken by Greylock. "Well! I'll stop killing the conversation and leave you two _lovebirds_ alone for a moment, I'm positively famished. Don't get into too much trouble while I'm gone~! ...And I'm not going to be that long. Just down to the refectory for a bite and back. I do need to study _some_ time tonight. At any rate, toodle-oo!" Greylock's smile was wide, and there seemed to be a bounce in his step as he left. That seemed rather jaunty for what they'd just been discussing a few minutes ago, but then again, it was Greylock. He always bounced back rather quickly.

A little too late, Sofia said toward the door, "Congrats again on- oh, he's too far gone." Then she looked back to Cedric, and there was a moment of silence.

"So," said Cedric.

"So," Sofia replied.

Cedric looked at the door, then down at his feet, then up to Sofia, made and maintained eye contact for a moment. He looked away again, but patted the bed next to him.

The bed beside him sunk as she sat down, and he ended up leaning into her without wholly meaning to. Still, it was...nice. He leaned his head on hers, though it was a tad awkward - he wasn't quite tall enough to rest it on the top of hers, but wasn't nearly close enough to level that he could use her shoulder.

She snuggled up to him, asking, "Is this okay?" as she wrapped an arm around him, as she leaned her head on his shoulder instead, though he felt it was still a little awkward, as she scooted closer.

He kissed the top of her head lightly. He didn't know why, but it felt right to do that. Though was that really a kiss? There was the motion, presing mouth to surface, but not really the pucker of lips. Still. With that, he discovered her hair smelled like lavender and olive oil. Even when the color wasn't actually shown, she tended towards it, it seemed. Heh.

From below, Sofia said, "Do you want to talk about it? Your bad day."

Cedric rolled his eyes and grunted. "I just finished speaking with Grey about it as you came here. So-" A pause for a short breath, and he reconsidered his wording before continuing. "That's sweet, and I do appreciate it. Thank you. But I'd honestly prefer a distraction over _even more_ dwelling."

He could feel Sofia nod. "All right. But before-" She paused, hesitated, seemed to switch gears. "I just want to say, I'm here for you. If it's really bad, _please_ feel free to send me a note, I'll leave class. I _want_ to be here for you, too. Like Greylock is."

 _That much might be a little difficult, all things considered._ Still… "Sickeningly saccharine, as always," Cedric said, hoping she could hear the smile in his voice. "Duly noted. Now, I do believe we were on a different subject a moment ago?"

Sofia laughed, thankfully, and pulled back to look at Cedric. It was hard to keep eye contact, but at least it was only her, looking into his own, staring, cutting to the depth of him. "May I?" she said, and he nodded, whatever it was she wanted to do was all right, though he hoped-

It was, in fact, a kiss. He closed his eyes as her lips met his, appreciative of the comforting dark, and the sensations he could enjoy without distraction.

They leaned together, rearranging awkwardly at the edge of the bed, until Cedric broke away for a moment, scooting towards the middle, tugging Sofia with him. She smiled, chuckled lightly, and he re-initiated the kiss, this time leaning down over her, his body slightly off skew from hers. _Better to be safe,_ was one of Cedric's few coherent, concrete thoughts.

It felt a little odd, when Cedric broke the kiss and asked Sofia, this time, "M-may I?" His hand, the one that wasn't supporting his weight on the bed, was hovering an inch over one of her breasts. Still fully clothed, of course, they hadn't touched buttons or snaps, given Cedric wasn't even sure this much was all right - hence the question.

By way of answer, Sofia leaned up to meet Cedric's lips, and hand. He didn't do much with the permission, a slight knead before moving on to further exploration of less taboo parts of her body, but it was nice to have.

Suddenly, the door resounded with a loud thud. At first, the two thought it was a knock, and pulled apart as quickly as they could - but no voice sounded, no key turned, no one seemed to be there. There was another thud, further away, and some voices from the hall.

"Oh, isn't it always _something_ in this school. Barely a moment of peace and quiet anywhere."

Cedric found it hard to be annoyed; rather, he realized he was grateful for the reminder that it _wasn't just_ _him_ that made mistakes like this, and that such things weren't uncommon. Sascha would still probably tell tall tales, but… They wouldn't gain any more traction than anything else.

Not long after, Greylock made it back to their room, covered in rather _sparkly_ red splotches, notably on his hands and one drip down his cheek by one eye.

Cedric stiffened, unable to say, to do, to help anything, while Sofia managed to speak for the both of them. "What _happened_ , how badly are you hurt? Do we need-"

"I'm fine," Greylock cut her off, then licked one of his fingers. "Mm! Boysenberry, actually. It's just a large Slime made of jelly. Split into lots of little ones, and they like to jump, the little buggers. Mostly just swatted away. ...Though Sofia, you might want to leave through the window with a slow fall spell." He winked, added, "Whenever you do," and moved to his dresser, retrieving a washcloth, and starting to wipe off the mess.

It was dark, by now, though as the days were shortening it wasn't all that late, yet. Sofia decided to stay a while longer, slowly leaning more and more on Cedric - though he had no idea of whether this was a sign of affection or exhaustion on her part.

"Oh, I don't think you heard earlier, when you left," Sofia said at some point, "but congratulations again on the lead. You'll be a wonderful… Philian. Whoever _that_ is." She laughed, and he did too.

"Sofia dear," Greylock said, "I'm sure you'll be wonderful too, as-"

"A probably non-speaking Frolicking Faun," Sofia cut in, "Which… seems a little silly, given my audition wasn't like yours, I didn't dance or gesticulate, I just _read_. But, oh well, I- I suppose I have to start somewhere."

"Or as Hala," Greylock finished his earlier statement. "Should anything happen to.. Diane, was it? I didn't recognize the leading lady's name, though that doesn't mean I wouldn't know her on sight, I suppose."

Sofia smiled. "Yeah. I guess there is that."

"Though should you remain in a minor part, there's still some silver lining to be had. You'll still have two more years to try for bigger roles, and there's less pressure this time around." Sofia nodded, clearly pleased with this line of thinking. Greylock placed a hand over his heart and waned dramatic. "Indeed, perhaps that is best! Allow the audience time to grow accustomed to your radiance, lest they be overwhelmed. Your grace and beauty on stage would be protected from prying eyes."

Wasn't… that kind of an oxymoron? If the stage did not inherently involve such eyes, Cedric suspected stage fright would be a far less common issue. … Also, was it just him, or did it seem Greylock had been complimenting her an awful lot lately? ..Ah, he was probably just being paranoid. It was _Greylock_ , after all.

"Aside from eyes belonging to anyone you wish to practice with, of course, and possibly Cedric or other chosen spectators. Still! The joy of acting without the fear of failure."

A small breath of a laugh came from Sofia, and she said softly, "You do make it sound a lot better. Thanks, Greylock."

With that, conversation began to drift. There was a little speculation between the two of them on what the play could possibly be given the area of magical creatures involved in the casting, but tangents soon arose leading to things Cedric could get involved in as well. None of it was especially memorable, but in the moment it was so pleasant that all three of them seemed to lose track of time.

When they finally noticed, it was nearly curfew, and Sofia had to especially rush what with going out the window and around the building rather than straight through it. She and Cedric shared a quick kiss goodbye, to his delight, and he watched her out the window until she was out of sight.

He did hope she'd make it back to her room in time, though knowing her she'd find some way of making things work out in her favor, one way or another.


	13. It's All About Popular

Sofia and Greylock walked into the assembly hall to find it feeling… much too large. For the Masquerade, it had been packed with bodies and decorations, and at least for the auditions there had been seating set up for those who wished to stay and watch, not to mention tables of probably-leftover food to one side. Now, there were only a handful of chairs all pushed close to the stage, mostly empty - though that made sense, given how early she and Greylock were this time around.

A large 'sign' of glowing magical letters hung over a small group on stage-left. Incidentally, also _her_ left, as they were acting as the audience. But at any rate... This group was marked [*~ACTORS~*], asterisks and tildes and all because of course just words weren't clear enough, Sofia mused. At any rate, the gaudy sign directed her and Greylock to that group, versus the two others.

The middle group, denoted [~*STAGE CREW ETC*~], had a few people sitting there. Sofia was pleasantly surprised to see Mabel, though the latter seemed to be focused on - or perhaps more accurately _enamored with_ \- the blonde boy next to her, such that she didn't notice Sofia. Not that Sofia minded; there'd be plenty of time to talk, and she knew how Mabel could be with crushes. It was cute, really.

Sofia didn't recognize anyone from the group on the other side of the room, labeled [~*CW III DIRECTORS*~], but many of the chairs were still empty. She shrugged and sat down second row from the the front, next to Greylock, then turned to look behind her. One other girl had gotten here, so far. Rainary, the - uh. Sofia gave a small wave and turned back around in her seat to ponder how to think of Rainary, other than as 'the green girl'. The girl with long dark hair, a year ahead of her, a familiar named Tay that was something called a 'rice otter', whose fur was as green as ...its caster's skin. Sofia wished she knew anything else about her. It was hard to focus on things that weren't the obvious, that must be pointed out on a daily, hourly basis, when that was the extent of her knowledge. On the other hand, it wasn't any better to make friendly with her for that sole reason.

"Wow, this place is _way_ too quiet! Everyone needs to hurry up and get here so we can start having some fun!" The voice breaking the silence was loud, bright and happy, and definitely feminine; and it came from the back of the room. Sofia and Greylock turned to see a pretty, perky, pudgy, and pervasively _pink_ girl standing at the doors to the hall. Sofia wondered if she was related to that professor from the other day. Big, curly pink hair, if much messier, similar body type… This girl's ears were visible unlike the professor's had been, and she was definitely not an elf, despite the hair. Huh. Maybe the professor wasn't after all?

Only when Sofia saw Greylock approach the girl did Sofia realize he'd gotten up. "Pinkie!" he said, and put out a hand to shake, but apparently-Pinkie chose to use the hand to pull him into a hug. He hesitated a little, it looked like, but maybe that was Sofia imagining things. Either way, he did return the hug, though he also retracted his arms quite a bit sooner than Pinkie. Sofia supposed sympathy would be a more appropriate reaction, but she couldn't help but find the whole exchange oddly cute.

"Grey! Grey, it's so great to see you! I knew you'd get in, I mean, _duh,_ it's _you._ But I stuck around to see everyone's auditions, and you were soooo great!" She squeezed him again, then finally let him out of the hug.

Greylock grinned. "Well, your confidence is as appreciated as ever, Oh Pinkest One."

Pinkie giggled and clapped her hands excitedly, hopping around a little. "We're gonna have a _blast,_ I just _know_ it!"

"Absolutely! Though right now I'd be satisfied just knowing what the bloody play is. Such mystique over such a silly thing, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean!" Just then, someone else Sofia didn't recognize walked by them, apparently catching Pinkie's eye as she turned and started to follow them, before halting and turning on her heels back to Greylock, as though excusing herself was an afterthought. "Catch ya later, Grey! I'm gonna say hi to the others!" Greylock just nodded and waved her on her way, but as the pink girl passed by, Sofia thought she heard something on the lines of, "And then maybe see about the party cannon this place _super_ needs."

Other people eventually started filing in as well, and the seats filled up. Pinkie was lost in the forming crowd at some point, and Grey seemed to be up greeting as well now. Sofia thought to join him, but he seemed to be on a first-name basis with everyone, where for her most would involve introductions, getting to know new people. While that was a hobby in its own right, usually, here it felt like it might get awkward, or at least old quick. Not to mention that a few people did know exactly who she was- the commoner, the scholarship girl. As such, she thought it better to hang back, get a feel for the crowd, and allow them to see her as a fellow castmate rather than 'that girl we've heard a bit about in passing'. Come to think, Sofia wondered if perhaps Rain was doing much the same.

Suddenly, her reverie was broken by an almost painfully loud bang, and confetti filled the air, showering over the room. ...W-wait. So… apparently Pinkie was serious about that cannon. That… was both amazing and a little terrifying, but Sofia found herself laughing, so she guessed if cheering the place up was the intent it must be working to some degree!

Someone else seemed to agree, as behind her Sofia heard a slow gasp and an "OOooooh! I gotta get me one of thoooose." ..Oh wait. Sofia knew that voice!

Turning around, she asked, "Star?" And her face lit. "It IS you! I was starting to think I wouldn't know anyone here but Grey!" Smirking, she added, "Well, and Mabel, but." She nodded toward the friend in question, who seemed to be making awkward conversation with the same boy. But the awkwardness looked one-sided and the boy quite calm, so that could be a good sign.

Star smiled. "Aww, good for her!" Out of the corner of her mouth toward Sofia, she added a little more cattily, "Here's hoping this works out better than the last five attempts, right?"

Sofia felt a bit bad for grinning, but grin she did. But when Star plopped down in the seat next to her, her line of thought changed to, "Wait. Shouldn't you be in your own section? I'm pretty sure things are about to get started."

Star made a 'pffft' sound to accompany her handwave. "This _is_ my section, _silly!_ "

Simultaneous excitement and confusion. "Wait, you're an actor!? I didn't see you at tryouts at all!"

Star leaned in a bit, smile calm as ever. "And _I_ didn't see _yoouu_ at tryouts!" Sofia laughed; that _was_ fair, after all. Leaning back in her seat and drumming her hands against her lap idly, Star added, "To be fair, I think I was the first one there, and I had to leave right after for-" She stopped suddenly and her grin became a little more pasted as she finished, "reeeeeasons~!"

Sofia quirked a brow, but gave no further reaction to that suspicious behavior. She would have respected her friend's privacy regardless, but she did so especially given that, in this school in general, she had learned it was often better not to ask. "That makes sense. Grey and I were the _last_ ones to show, so we probably just missed you."

"Oooh, Greylock's here? Any chance Ceeedriiic is coming too, hmmm?"

Sofia sniffed a small laugh. "No, he's not the artsy type." Thinking to all his little poems and bird doodles, she mentally added, _Except when he tries to be._ Gosh he was adorable.

"Awww. Oh well. But I wonder when they're gonna tell us-"

"Welcome, everyone!" rang a loud, clear voice. Oh! Perhaps now, then? Sofia looked around to see each section now… more filled than it _was_ , at least, although for having three separate sections the group was still somewhat small. Those still up moving around filed to their seats, and everyone, including Sofia and the now-back-at-her-other-side Grey, turned their eyes to the speaker: a girl with a tan complexion and multi-color hair - blue with pink and purple streaks? - tucked behind pointed ears. Well, this made three of the five cases of strangely-colored hair elves. ...Three of six if she counted Cedric's bangs, but she was pretty sure those were Different. But maybe colors like this were just more common than she thought? ...Were there any half-elves, she wondered? Would their ears reveal them as such, and could Pinkie be one? ...Could focusing so much on the ears be considered a form of prejudice?

All these thoughts did flash through her mind rather quickly, and whatever the case she put them away for now to focus on the girl on stage.

"Is everyone settled? Are we good?" she asked, quieter, seemingly more to herself than the audience. When no one replied but everyone seemed focused, her voice became projected once again. "My name is Twilight, and I will be serving as your director for this year's play. Everyone should have a drama club schedule under their chair detailing the events of the next few weeks, and at the end of the day we'll be providing any extra materials needed for your individual roles."

She went on, explaining that... apparently? ...the reason for all the secrecy was that they'd be doing a student-written play, wherein the "CW" of the director group stood for Creative Writing. Sofia understood this should be inherently interesting, but Twilight's long-winded explanation of the process was surprisingly dry, leading her mind to wander a little more than she was comfortable admitting. She also found herself a little envious, as a Creative Writing II student herself. But maybe that meant she'd get to do something like this next year? Ooh, but what could she write about, hmmm… Annnd she was wandering again, ugh.

Something that caught Sofia's attention partway through, though, was "The premiere is in _February_?" she whispered to Greylock. "I thought this was an autumn, or at least Wassalia play?"

Greylock shook his head. "The competitions start near the beginning of spring semester, so we wouldn't have time to rehearse just before. And, well, we can't expect the good actors to stay at school through the winter hols, now, can we?"

Sofia conceded, and let the hushed conversation drop. Eventually, Twilight finished. "On the last page of your packets, I've put together a few different groups of names. You should find and familiarise yourself with the other people in the groups you find yourself in, as you'll be spending a great deal of time with them over the next few months. Use the time now to do so, though of course we hope you also maintain these friendships well into the future! After you've met everyone, you're free to go for today. But be sure to read through the scripts on your own time, as our actual rehearsals will begin next meeting! Until then, snacks and refreshments have been provided at the table at stage right." Twilight gestured, and Sofia found her head turning to follow, much as everyone's did. She didn't remember seeing that table before, but it _was_ clear across the room. Magic or having simply missed it seemed equally probable.

Sofia shrugged to herself, and found her name in the mentioned groups. At least [~*ACTORS*~] - in the same font as the magical signs, with the same decoration, and all - were separated here from the stage crew, etc., which made it easier to locate herself.

One such group - at the top, even - had herself, Greylock, the Diane girl who'd beaten Sof out for the lead, and someone named Jamie. That was nice to see; wasn't that the name of the boy Greylock had got on so well with during auditions?

Another section had her and Diane with Rainary, Star and Belle (oh was she here? Sofia hadn't noticed her yet either), and a few other names she didn't know. This section was labeled, "Woodland Creatures."

So… Sofia took a deep breath. She had her reason to go talk to Rainary more, now, but she'd have to remember to be _careful_ when she spoke. She always tried to be, but this required more than usual tact. Avoid the subject of color, and don't make remarks about green things unless it was otherwise appropriate - but avoiding anything and everything green would be just as obvious.

She'd also have to find this Diane at some point, and go through to check again to see if there were any other groups she was included in, but she might as well go accomplish the task she could literally see in front of her. Well… behind her, technically, given seating arrangements. Still.

Rainary hadn't stood when most of the rest of the people in attendance did, so rather than needing to find her again in the milling crow, Sofia just made her way to the row where the other girl sat, and took the seat next to her.

"Hi there, Rainary isn't it? I guess we'll be Woodland Creatures together." Sofia smiled at the girl, who didn't meet her gaze.

"Just Rain is fine," she said. "I play Acacia, a dryad." Rain was looking at her hands, folded on her lap, not facing Sofia in the least. In fact, she was on the edge of her chair opposite from Sofia, and looked as if she was about to fall off.

Sofia was reminded of Cedric momentarily, then shrugged and moved a seat away. Rain didn't immediately react, but Sofia did eventually notice she was more centered on her seat after a while. "At least you've _got_ a name," Sofia said after settling back down into her new seat, "I'm just Frolicking Faun. Though I suppose I don't have a _number_ like the poor guards do."

"What's wrong with being numbered?" Rain asked, though her voice was nearly too level to be a question.

"Well," Sofia started, a little surprised, "I suppose nothing, if you don't mind which role you have. Which isn't a judgement in itself, just - not usually the case, I guess. _My_ point had been that at least I'm not unimportant enough to not only not-get a name but be one of several of such a probably-unimportant group?"

Rain nodded at all this - was that a nod? It was hard to tell, while the girl's face was still angled a bit away from Sofia - then opened her script and began looking through it. Sofia waited for a moment, but it seemed Rainary wasn't going to reply. "Well, um, I live in Crage House, dorm C. How about you?"

"Vinkus House, Dorm B." Rain didn't look up from her packet, and her reply was short, but she didn't seem annoyed, at least by the tone of voice.

"All right. I'll probably come find you at some point, so we can practice lines, assuming we have any together. I mean, we _probably_ do, that was supposed to be the point of these groups, right? But I haven't looked much at the script yet, so…"

Rainary pointed at her book. "You have lines, I don't." Sofia blinked and leaned in to see where Rain was pointing, and indeed, Frolicking Faun _did_ have lines. Acacia was down as responding with gestures and...jingle bells, for some reason.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Sofia said, trying not to sound too happy about the fact that she'd get a chance to actually _act_ after all.

She needn't have bothered, it turned out, as Rain responded, "I'm not. This seems fun, but speaking has never been my strong suit." That made sense. "Though I do wonder if I was chosen as the role for poor speaking but decent movement, or if I'm a tree because I'm green."

 _Welp_. "I'm sure it was the first thing," Sofia said, "I can't imagine they'd do something like that." Nor would - who had chosen the cast list, anyway? Well, whoever 'they' were, they _definitely_ didn't put Sofia in a side role because she was a commoner. Of course not. ...On the other hand, she apparently did have a speaking role after all. Maybe she'd been too harsh in her assessment.

With a shrug, Rain said, "It doesn't matter much now, anyway. Just an idle thought."

Sofia nodded. "Well, I suppose I'll leave you to the script, though you probably should go find the others in the groups you're in."

Another shrug. "They'll find me, I don't exactly blend in." Sofia couldn't exactly argue with that, but she didn't want to confirm, either… She smiled, nodded, and moved to leave. Rain seemed to find something funny as Sofia did so, but she couldn't imagine what.

She found Belle pretty quickly after, who seemed enthused about having gotten a part despite her critical reception. As… a _siren_ no less? Well, that was serendipitous. Though Sofia did wonder why the judges had criticized her singing if there was a role that called for it, however small? Hm… Well, no sense dwelling on that, now.

At any rate, given she and Belle had already met, it was a pretty brief exchange overall before they parted ways. And of course she already knew Star pretty well, so spending more time with her just now seemed unnecessary. Which meant moving on to the names she _didn't_ recognize, now.

Aside from Greylock, Jamie, and… _Diane…_ she still had a 'Ferbs' and a-

"OOF!" Sofia suddenly ran straight into someone, knocking them both back. "I- I'm so sorry I usually look where I'm-" ...Hm? Sofia had to… look… down? Which was actually pretty close to eye level, but. She was so used to needing to look up at least a few inches that even this felt much stranger than she expected it to.

The other girl laughed off her embarrassment and knelt down to pick up the script she'd dropped upon their collision. "It's okay, I don't, honestly." Smiling sheepishly, she added, "So that was probably my fault. I just meant to skim the script a little, and, well…"

Sofia found herself smiling with her. "No problem. Glad to hear it's apparently interesting. I'm Sofia, by the way."

"Levy," she introduced herself. ..And Sofia only now realized her hair was bright blue? At this point, the length of time it took her to notice felt more surprising than the fact itself. Levy's eyes lit then, and "Oh! We're in the Woodland Creatures section together, right?"

"Oh, that's right!" What serendipitous timing, almost as if someone had planned it. Well, no sense looking a gift horse in the mouth, right? One down!

They spoke at a little more length than her previous encounters, but not by much. Sofia learned Levy was actually pretty nervous about the play, having only tried out to support one friend and because another had been one of the writers. But Sofia did her best to reassure her that it would be fun. They found they had a mutual interest in reading and watching plays, as well, and agreed they'd have to talk more on that another time.

As they parted, Sofia looked around and noticed a boy.. with.. green hair, this was getting ridiculous… sitting with Rainary. ...Heh. Doing her best to ignore the correlation, she checked over her list and found that by process of elimination, that was likely her guy. So Sofia waited until he stood up and got a few steps away from Rain before approaching him. "Ferbs, by any chance?"

"Just Ferb is fine." Sofia blinked a bit at the echo before musing on the fact that dropping one letter seemed a little bit silly for a nickname. But, well, if that was what he preferred, she certainly wasn't going to say anything.

"So you're the other Dryad, right?" With.. his hair - nope, there was still nothing to this type-casting theory, not at all. Ferb nodded. "Have you looked over the script any yet? Are you excited for the play?" Ferb gave an almost imperceptible shrug. ...O..kay. "From my lack of character name I didn't think I'd get any lines, but it looks like I do have at least a few! Do you know if you will?" In response, Ferb opened his script and showed Sofia a page. Skimming, she found his part - gesturing and shaking bells, same as Rain. Wait. And she-.. so he… "...So I'm guessing you don't talk much outside of the play, either?"

"Not usually, no," he said, just above a mumble. He closed his script, and tucked it back under his arm. Sofia couldn't quite decide how to feel about that - but, she supposed, whatever the _casting_ implications were or weren't, it meant _Ferb_ wasn't being rude, right? He wasn't giving her a cold shoulder; this was just his norm, right? That did make her feel a bit better.

With a smile, she went on a bit, more properly introducing herself and talking more about the play, trying to keep her questions more yes/no and one-at-a-time than piling on open-ended ones. It was, admittedly, a little awkward, and she wasn't quite sure she was handling this ideally, but he did react positively as far as she could tell. Once she started watching for it, she also realized his gestures and facial expressions in response to things were more pronounced than many people's, and she got the impression he had a pretty good sense of humor. Getting to know him would be different than she was used to, but Sofia found herself looking forward to the prospect.

Of course, parting ways with Ferb meant she was down to… Sofia sighed.

Well, there was still Jamie, right? And she should be able to recognize him from auditions. Let's see.. Oh, there was TS. Not in any of her groups so it didn't seem they'd have any on-stage interaction, but good for him getting a part. And… ah! There was Jamie! Talking to Greylock, but Sofia was _technically_ supposed to talk to both even if Greylock _was_ already her best bestie, right?

As Sofia approached, she saw Pinkie literally-bounce over join the boys as well. What was she here for, Sofia wondered. She hadn't seen what section she'd ended up sitting in before. Well, perhaps she'd steal Grey and give Sofia a better excuse to talk to Jamie?

Instead, Sofia found Greylock's hands suddenly on her shoulders and "Pinkie dear! Haaaaave you met Sofia~?" And suddenly she was shoved toward the other girl. There was a mumble afterward of something like 'yes I know' and 'that's the joke' but Sofia didn't catch all of it.

Before Sofia could voice her complaint of _are we going to do this EVERY drama meeting or -_ Pinkie was already giggling and responding. "Oh c'mon silly, I'm met _every-_ " But her eyes settled on Sofia, and a wave of horror washed over her.

"W-what's wrong?" Sofia asked. Was there something on her face? Had she done something wrong, somehow? D-did Pinkie think of her as 'the commoner girl'? What could it-

" _I haven't met you!_ " Pinkie exclaimed frantically.

"Oh!" Sofia exclaimed, relieved. "Is.. that all?"

"Is. that. ALL!? What do you mean is that ALL, this is a TRAVESTY! I'm friends with EVERYONE. _EVERYONE!_ And it's… It's _November!_ It's the _middle_ of November! You-" Suddenly, a moment of hope. "Wait! Did you just transfer here?"

Sofia should not have been laughing at the girl's crisis, but it was oddly endearing, making such a fuss over something like this. "Yeah," she said. "I came in on scholarship this year, so I-"

But the horror was back. "This YEAR? The _beginning_ of the semester, this year? So you _have_ been here for months, and I haven't met you or thrown you a Welcoming Party or _anything!_ I'm soooo sorry! We- we'll have to correct this!" And just like that, she was back to bouncing, all but skipping in place, hands shaking with excitement. "We'll throw you a super-duper-extra-big-and-EXTRA-special party to make up for it! What kind of things do you like? Balloons? _Streamers?_ We'll have to get your favorite cake andwecan'tforgettheicecreamandpartygamesOHwatkinagamsdyuliketplawe-"

"PINKIE," Sofia interjected, a hand covering her wide grin. By all the Princess Pantheon, Sofia realized on some level she probably should have found this annoying but all that energy was just _entirely_ too infectious. "Slow down, _it's okay._ I really don't need a p-" She could immediately tell by Pinkie's face that argument wasn't going to fly. "...A _small_ party might be more fun," she said instead.

With that, her fidgeting became a little more lowkey, but her smile remained. "Oh. Are you sure? I really would love to do something _super_ special, but if you _waaant_ a smaller one I guess those have their perks too."

Sofia nodded. "Maybe we could turn it into a welcoming-and-also-Wassalia party with just a dozen or so friends, a little before the holiday break?"

Pinkie perked. "-But! But we could do a party for _both_ -" and this time it was _Sofia's_ expression to stop _her._ Pinkie sighed and rolled her eyes, but Sofia could sense no ill will in the act. "Alll riiiiiight."

"Also, we should _probably_ work on party planning later. Not that it doesn't sound fun. But we're supposed to be meeting everyone we'll have scenes with in the play, and-" Pinkie grinned a mile wide, and Sofia found herself both _very_ charmed and a little envious. "Well, yes, _you_ already know everyone, except for me I guess. But _I_ do still need to find a few more people."

Squirming, Pinkie suddenly looked rather… anticipating? Was that the word? What on earth could have her so excited _now?_ All Sofia said was - "Oh!" She laughed sheepishly, borderline embarrassed it took her so long to piece together. "I guess since you know everyone, you could probably _help me_ find everyone, huh?"

Pinkie jumped and squealed as she clapped her hands. "I was hoping you'd ask!" She twirled around once as she landed. Wow she was just… _entirely_ too cute for Sofia. This was going to end up drifting into crush territory, she could feel it. Like, not nearly in the same way as Cedric, just… She didn't quite know how to describe it but it felt Different. Still quite giddy and 'watching you be adorable makes me super happy', etc, though. "Honestly I haven't really looked at the lists yet. Didn't think I'd need to, ya know? So who do you still need?"

"Jamie Postman," she answered. "That's the boy Grey was-" She looked over her shoulder, and… Still? Well, all right. " _Is_ talking to, right?" Pinkie nodded with a firm _mm-hmm!_ "And..." Sofia took a deep breath. "I think the only other one is Diane Pi."

A delighted gasp escaped the girl. Was that a good sign, at least? Maybe it was someone who Pinkie - "That's _me_ , silly! Oh my _gosh_ , so _you're_ my understudy! This is gonna be the _best!_ Now we'll have _so_ much time to get to know each other and become super best ultimate besties!"

Sofia… had never felt.. so conflicted. _This_ was the girl she'd felt - _still_ felt - so bitter toward for beating her? But… She was _so. damn. cute._ But with that much rampant energy, could she really _act?_ And then, as if Sofia needed a nail in the coffin-

"I can't _believe_ Twilight put my ' _proper'_ name though! She knows _everyone_ calls me Pinkie! I'm not even sure everyone _knows_ my other name! It sounds like Grey sure didn't!" She giggled. Sofia wasn't sure when that was determined; perhaps just before she'd approached? Whatever. "I guess everyone _else_ had their full names listed, though, and being one of my _actually-very_ -best friends is no reason for special treatment, right?"

Sofia deadpanned. ….So. The green kids were trees. The smallest girl Sofia had seen above Year 9 was a harpy. The commoner got a nameless part. And two of the most popular kids in school, one of whom was close friends with the lead writer-and-director, got the lead roles. YES. There was _absolutely definitely NO_ type-casting or favoritism here _whatsoever!_ This was _absolutely_ fair for everyone!

"Y-ya know.." Sofia said, voice weaker than before. "I'm suddenly feeling a little dizzy. I think I'm actually going to head back to my room and rest for a while. I'll just talk to Jamie some other time." Without checking the list again, she was pretty sure she only needed to talk to Jamie because he was _Grey's_ understudy, anyway, so the chances of them actually working together weren't too high. It probably wouldn't matter if she _never_ got around to it, let alone avoided it right now. "...S-see you around, Pinkie." __

"Awww. Well I hope you get to feeling better!" Pinkie called after her. "Bye-bye, Sofia! Rest well~!"

 _Ugh…_ Even now she was a ball of positive energy, and _what on earth_ did that say about Sofia for begrudging her? Let alone lying to her? ...Wait, shit-

…. She stopped in the middle of the hallway, alone, and looked to her chest, where under her uniform the Amulet lay. "Nothing?" she quietly asked, both to it and herself. ...Hm. She guessed her logic regarding Jamie was convincing enough for it, and with no real consequences at stake even it could understand her needing a little space. She _did_ feel bad in a few ways right now, even if dizzy wasn't _quite_ one of them. But then again, if the Amulet thought this was okay morally, perhaps 'bad for lying to Pinkie' shouldn't be one of them, after all.

Maybe she'd even explain that she was just a little bitter, once she had time to calm down and get over the initial sting. Or who knew? Maybe this actually _did_ still look a lot worse than it was. Rain seemed happy about her part. Levy probably would have been offput by something bigger, no pun intended. And maybe Pinkie would surprise her.

So yes. No sense in dwelling on it today. She'd just take some time to herself to calm down. And, hey! Cedric helped last time. And possibly alone now, what with Grey still out for at least a bit longer. Maybe she'd go see if he was in his room~

* * *

 **A/N: The beginning part of this chapter put me officially over 50k words (I know what 's word count says, but it includes quoted text and author's notes, lol) -and thus I won National Novel Writing Month. (Even if this story's faaar from finished, it's still 50k, haha.) Thank you all for your encouraging reviews/etc this month, it's been a blast! [insert hearts here. I've finally learned greater-than and less-than signs don't work here lol.] Going forward, updates** ** _will_** **be a bit slower, and I'll alternate between this and Romance! probably, not to mention possibly working on** ** _even more_** **story ideas, though those are far more nebulous at this point, haha.**

 **Another big thank you to Poly Goggles, without whom I never could have won NaNo, and who now that the month is over is helping me not just with ideas and wording but more solidly collabing with me. Character voices! :D**

 **Just, yeah. I've finally won NaNoWriMo, after I literally don't know how many years of trying, and you readers were an important part of that.** ** _Thank you_** **. Here's to hoping you enjoy it as much from here on out~!**


	14. Thank Goodness

Cedric was not, in fact, in his room.

Instead, Cedric was pouring two cups of tea - or rather, hot water he'd just heated over a small magical fire that would _become_ tea, with the leaves and other plant material in the bottoms of their cups - in Professor Layton's office. He laid one of the cups in front of the Professor with a small nod. Then, before sitting down, he took out a small phial labeled "EM", carefully measured out a few capfuls into the drink, and placed it beside the other man's teacup; he took another phial, similarly marked, and did the same into his own drink, though he simply pocketed the thing after he was done.

"Thank you, my boy," Layton said as he took both his drink and the phial. "Masculinizing Elixir used to be a necessary evil, but it's downright _pleasant_ in tea. I'm still astonished you managed to find herbs to complement its flavor so well - not that I doubt your ability, Cedric, of course. My point is simply that it was quite a feat."

Cedric smiled. "You're well aware my aim was less the flavor of the concoction and more the tunability."

Professor Layton nodded. "I am, which honestly makes it that much more interesting that it's a well rounded flavor."

It really was something along the lines of serendipity more than skill, though Cedric _had_ tried to at least make the various combinations palatable. Still, he wasn't about to refuse praise, especially from his favorite professor. "You do me credit, sir," he said, then looked down at his cup. Had it steeped enough yet? Cedric realized he hadn't conjured any spoons to stir the drinks with yet, so quickly did that before Layton could beat him to it; he wasn't about to let the teacher, who'd just complimented him, have to do the work - even if the tea was more of a social call than a professional one.

... _However_ , there was actual business to be attended to. Cedric cleared his throat. "I, ah, apologize if this is sudden, but I was wondering if you might take me on as a thesis student. I've already asked Professor Tohsaka, my previous advisor, if I should be allowed to transfer-"

Layton nodded. "So I've heard, though that was some days ago now. I _had_ been wondering."

 _Ah._ "Yeees, it was," Cedric said, stalling, trying to think of a good reason, trying not to be too obvious about glancing around the room. The only thing that jumped out at him was the spoon in his hand, and well, yes, but _running out of spoons_ only made sense in a specific context, and as far as Cedric was aware, Layton had no reason to know that context.

...No good lie was coming up, especially now that Cedric was preoccupied with an oddly specific way of explaining the truth. "Something came up?" he eventually said, though he felt that with such a hesitation and the lilt at the end of his voice that he wasn't very convincing. Which was silly, because while vague, that _was_ the truth.

Another nod from Layton, and he said, "I see." The professor didn't… _seem_ to be suspicious about Cedric's reaction, but neither did he seem particularly sold.

...And then Cedric realized, of all people. Of _all_ people, while Professor Layton wouldn't understand the spoons, he'd understand the issue at large.

"Sascha Nettle ran into me on the way to your office, actually. She - last time we actually _spoke_ , before that anyhow, she still… considered herself lesbian." Cedric gulped, and forced himself to continue. "In the hallway, she - she set me up, for a magical incident thing, set me to take the fall, not - not to mention, she, she called me old names, Li-Liz-" He couldn't force it out a second time, not to his _professor_ , even as much as he liked the man. Even if they shared the dubious distinction of having been called a 'girl' at birth.

The professor's mouth tightened into the rare frown. "I see. Yes, of course, there's no shame in needing time after that. I apologize for prying." Layton picked up his tea and began to drink.

Cedric smiled weakly, then looked down at his own tea. That he had to drink his way into being seen as a - he was too young, too frail to claim the label _man_ , exactly, but he was too old to be considered a _boy_. But was he ever even that?

...Of course, if he doubted the veracity of his own identity due to needing an outside source to keep his body in line, then he was also discounting Layton's, and that wouldn't do at all. He sighed and took a breath. "I just- I wish there was anything I could _do_. I managed to get proper housing - though only due to Grey's own _infamy_ , I think, and…" Cedric closed his eyes. No need to describe what happened, even if he couldn't keep himself from remembering a bit. Layton knew, and Cedric knew; outlining would only make it harder to forget. "It's even official in the books, now, and m-most at least manage to keep it behind my back, nothing overt, nothing I could _rat_ on them for, as it were. Which… _helps_. I think."

Layton put down his tea and nodded. "Unfortunately for your case, Miss Nettle _is, for the most part,_ otherwise a model student. I've heard smaller complaints of her being a tad sharp now and then, but nothing nearly so awful as you've said here. And I do wonder if even some of that was less about her and more about her orientation." Cedric's eyes widened, but Layton preempted his response, "I'm not saying I don't believe you, lad. Everyone has their faults and their struggles, their demons to overcome and all. Of course it still doesn't excuse that sort of behavior."

Cedric finally took a drink of his tea, to cover the frown he could feel forming. That… wasn't the response he was expecting, though he wasn't sure exactly what he _had_ expected, either. He did have a point, though. That incident with her last year wouldn't have put her in such a perilous position had she not been out as… whatever she was. A woman interested in other-women- _and-him_ , at least at one point; or perhaps it was simply easier to say as _not-straight_ , whatever her specifics. And for just a moment, some part of him did feel perhaps he should sympathize with that...

… But on the other hand, _she attacked him, made a public mess, then set him up for it._ Sympathy for her _oh so hard_ life - one of the few students who wasn't publicly maligned for identity or orientation that didn't match up with what was " _normal"_ \- was a bit hard to find. Of course, Greylock was in largely the same category, if not _quite_ the same, especially given _Grey_ hadn't abandoned him the moment Cedric had found himself, had chosen his name, had come out with the truth.

"Right," Cedric said, putting down his cup with a bit more force than necessary, "so- was that a yes, on the thesis?"

Layton took a moment to respond, which was… _worrying_. What was wrong? Was the delay that big of a deal? The professor had just said it wasn't, but that could be simply a politeness. Was it too late in the year? The first semester was over half-gone, but Cedric was honestly still in the research phase of the paper. Was _that_ it? Was he taking too long, was he not far enough for Layton's standards? Or maybe he was too far, Layton thought he wouldn't be able to help enough at this point to justify the-

"It's been some years since I've directed a thesis," he said, finally. Well. It probably hadn't been all that long in truth, but it seemed to take an age anyway. "I suppose now is as good a time as any to take it up again, not that the opportunities to do so are especially numerous. And I suppose you're not likely to be another Clive Dove."

Cedric didn't recognize the name, and as such had no context to interpret _that_ particular bit of information. ...For fear of misstepping, he couldn't think of anything to say, actually. Had the boy died, or just failed dismally? He couldn't have done something to tarnish the Professor's name too badly, or else he'd likely know - else, it had been swept under the rug. ...Looking back on his own troubles with housing, and the official reaction, that did seem highly possible.

"Yes," Layton said, after another pause. "I hadn't been quite sure whether or not I might until now, though I've been thinking it over since Tokiomi told me. Do be sure to bring me your current materials sometime soon, so I can begin the advising sooner rather than later." He took another drink of tea, keeping his eyes on Cedric.

A somewhat frantic nod from Cedric, a quick, "Of course," then silence. Honestly, Cedric hadn't realized he was as likely to be turned down as that. Well, his anxiety had said as much all along, but the logical part of his mind had tried to quiet that, with what he had _thought_ were well-founded points that the professor had no reason to do so (aside from being too busy, maybe?), that he'd be thrilled to work on more archaeology (...of a sort), that Cedric had a better chance than usual due to their personal friendship (if... perhaps a bit more distant than most friends were, due to age gap and teacher/student dynamic, and Cedric's nature in general) and-

 _But that doesn't matter right now._ The stakes had been higher than Cedric realized, which made him understandably a little shaken, sure. But he probably wouldn't have managed the nerve to ask if he'd known about this Clive, about...whatever other hesitations the professor had harbored, and wouldn't have this opportunity.

Suddenly, Layton broke the silence with a question, and caused Cedric to jump a little. "By the way, are you sure you won't take any compensation for this?" and gestured toward the teacup and the phial both. "Even just enough to cover the cost of ingredients?"

Cedric blinked and swallowed, which would have been less suspicious had he been drinking his own tea at the moment. "Oh, I wouldn't _dream_ of it!" he said, hoping he was not smiling too broadly, or waving his hand frantically rather than dismissively. "The cost is negligible, with my family's resources, you should know this." Well, rather with the _school's_ resources. The cost was negligible, in that it was literally zero, because he was stealing the herbs from the school's herbology gardens. Which, yes, he was allowed access to as a student, but he had a feeling he was pushing well beyond the envelope with the private collection of herbs in his rooms. Not that that was obvious, given the intentional mislabeling, though covering up overuse of herbs was more of a side-effect than the main reason for that…

A sigh came from Layton, and Cedric looked up. "I suppose not," the man said. "You're relatively lucky, as such. You won't feel the effects of the impending legislations on use of magic for some time. None of them are quite official yet, but they do seem to have a decent amount of support. Have you heard anything on them lately?"

Cedric shrugged. "I...suppose?"

"The most recent proposal is to require most magic-users to have an official escort while traveling any further than within one's own city," Layton said. "In addition to the student casting restrictions, there are a few more scattered rumors on the wind, though I do hope not too many of those are based in truth."

Cedric nodded. He had heard about this, though he'd forgotten. Layton was right; due to his family, Cedric wasn't usually affected as much by these things, given he had often enough moved in the same circles as the royal family, sometimes in a very literal sense - though usually they preferred flying coach to his father's transportation runes.

"What others _don't_ seem to see about this is the repercussions, the potential for misuse. I'd certainly _like_ to believe applying for such a person to accompany one on a journey wouldn't be an opportunity for officials to deny people from traveling altogether, by having forms mysteriously lost or delayed. I'd like to believe it wouldn't be used for keeping tabs on the personal lives of those with magic. But I fear, these days, I simply don't have as much faith in the powers that be as I used to."

...Merlin's Mushroom, that was a good point. Set of points, really.

"Of course, this won't happen for a while," Layton continued. "Assuming it even does make it into law, and there's no guarantee the king will agree with the nobles… However, it would be a markedly bad decision to oppose them, from what I hear."

And, while Cedric wouldn't be on the receiving end of that decision for a while, Professor Layton had no such family name behind him. Cedric wasn't sure quite what his professor's family actually _was_ like, but knew that 'Layton' was-at least not taken by marriage, though that didn't necessarily mean it had been the name given at birth. The point he was aiming for, though, was that said family name wasn't something Cedric recognized in the least aside from his good teacher here. Neither rich nor powerful, the Professor was likely closer to Sofia in his past than to himself or Greylock, perhaps even _as_ lowborn as her - and she'd _certainly_ be affected by these things, unless she somehow managed to dramatically move up the social ladder.

The Professor didn't _look_ particularly perturbed by all this, it was true, but he was frowning again. Twice in one night, where before Cedric wasn't sure he'd seen the man emote unhappiness deeper than a lack of smile. Not that he'd spent all _that_ much time with his teacher over the few years they'd known each other, but - still, that had to be something, right?

As such, Cedric wanted to try to comfort him, somehow. It was probably the thing to do here. If he had any idea _how_. The only thing coming to mind was the sort of physical comfort Sofia had asked for, when speaking about her father. That, of course, was quite out of the question. Even beyond Cedric's own discomfort with physical contact - Sofia apparently slowly growing into the exception to that - there was also the fact that Cedric neither knew the Professor _nearly_ well enough for that. He didn't even know the man's first name, for Avalon's sake. Nor would that amount of intimacy be even _vaguely_ appropriate between a professor and a student.

Again, it was Layton who broke the silence. "Where are my manners, I apologize," he said. "I shouldn't be burdening a young lad such as yourself with these matters. I do hope you won't spread this, I fear it might cause an uproar, which would do more harm than good since there's little to be done. In fact - no, I said I'd quit. Just _do_ try to keep mum about this, if you would?"

"Of - of _course_ , sir. I'm -" Hmm, it was perhaps not best to advertise one's ability to keep a secret, especially given that the largest thing Layton would know of that _might_ be safer kept secret - his being transgender - was specifically _not_ a secret to anyone at this point - except… Sofia, assuming she hadn't heard from someone else yet. … He, ah, did intend to correct that before she did. Eventually.

But back to the point, everything else on Cedric's List of Secrets was… well, Cedric kept it secret for a reason, from petty theft of school resources to - to the level of his cowardice, he supposed. "I'm quite sure I can do that much," Cedric managed instead, lest he implicate anything.

"I appreciate it," Layton said with a nod. Another drink - Layton seemed to be going lightly on the tea, how hadn't he finished it yet? - then he said, "Have you given any more thought to the Inventing Club? If it's a solid no, I don't mind at all, and will certainly stop asking; however, given you were on the fence last time it was brought up, I thought it might not hurt to check again."

Cedric couldn't resist rolling his eyes a bit. "You _know_ , the other members have not bothered to ask me personally, but they've _apparently_ started asking Sofia and Greylock. The nerve! Fine, if you all want me back _that_ badly, sure. _Fine_." All the same, he found it hard to resist a small smile. At least there was one group that - well, his gender was still an issue, it always would be, with anyone who knew him from Before, but they had been able to look past it sooner than many others had, and, for the most part, they hadn't wanted to push him out for it. The fact that they wanted him back so badly, even - next year would be a moot point, as he'd be graduated out, but that they wanted him for one last year - half of one year, even! - _so_ badly. It was rather flattering, really.

Layton didn't seem to notice the smile, or perhaps Cedric actually _had_ managed to force it back entirely. Either way, the Professor said, "Oh dear. I didn't intend to pressure you, Cedric. I wouldn't mind at all setting the other students-"

"No!" ...That came out a bit more forcefully than Cedric had intended. He cleared his throat and tried again. "No, that won't be necessary. I'm quite all right, no need to bother." He didn't add, _In fact,_ _ **please**_ _don't bother._ That would be too desperate. And, well, it - he really ought to put more time and effort into his studies, especially DAWW with his grade being as it was, but… he had done the calculations, he'd pass the class with a little buffer with this amount of effort. He had free time that yes, he _should_ spend doing other things, but he wasn't actually _about_ to. So this… yes, Inventing Club seemed like a good idea. He might even be in time to start on a large project for Spring's competition.

Layton chuckled at this Cedric's response, for some reason. He'd seen through the grouchy facade, probably. "All right," the professor said, and Cedric huffed and pouted for good measure.


	15. He Could Be That Boy

Greylock strolled across campus with a small spring in his step, making his way toward the Crage House dorms. It was awfully chilly today, even by late November standards, but that was okay. Or at least, it would be.

The halls weren't much warmer, but getting out of that piercing wind was a plus, he supposed. At last, he found the door to Sofia's dorm, and waltzed right in-

Only to stop in his tracks as he saw Sofia, curled up on her bed reading. Aragorn's Arse, I didn't think she'd still be here, he mentally muttered. She did seem pretty absorbed in whatever that book was, though. Given its pure black binding, Grey couldn't imagine what that might have been - although he did have a somewhat humorous passing thought that it looked familiar, even though that clearly could not have been the case. Yes, Grey, clearly all books of similar size and color are the same. Impeccable logic, he mused with a smirk. At any rate, with Sofia distracted like this, perhaps he could just…

He took a step back, and almost immediately tripped and fell with a… clang? That didn't even make sense! He'd just come through the same doorway, what could he have possibly-

"GREYLOCK!" Sofia exclaimed, slamming her book shut. Well, there went that. As he sat up, rubbing his back, Sofia stuffed the book in her bedside drawer before coming to his aid. In fact, she took so long to do so that two enchanted brooms beat her to it. … Right, so they must have been what he'd tripped on. Of course he'd come at the same time as the cleaning crew.

"Are you all right?" Sofia asked at last.

"Oh, fine, fine." He visually waved off the inquiry as he rose to his feet. "Right as rain, aside from a little aching, anyway. Likely forgotten in a few minutes, tops," he assured her.

"Ah. Well that's good." A beat passed, and her demeanor changed. "Wait, but what are you even doing here?" Her mouth twisted slightly. "I mean, I can get away with visiting you guys in a private dorm but-.. technically even that's always been a little risky, and, and they're a lot stricter about group dorms." A bit jumpy, today. Had he startled her that badly, or was Miss Late Night Expeditions actually that concerned about the rules for once? Seemingly as an afterthought, she added, "Not that I'm not happy to see you; I'd just hate for you to get in trouble."

Grey rolled his eyes with a light smile. "Oh, don't be silly, dear. All your prefects love me." He placed a hand over his heart for emphasis, causing Sofia to give him a slight leer. It made him a little happier than it probably should have to know she worried for him, but he had a point to make now, and as such strutted past her and deeper into the room. The brooms walked not far off, though they continued on to the far side to begin cleaning.

"... Grey."

He sat on her bed and gave her a defiant grin, and though Sofia facepalmed, he could also hear a weak chuckle, which was precisely the reaction he'd hoped for. As a bonus, it also gave him a moment to look around. It was the first time he'd actually seen Sofia's sleeping quarters, after all, though aside from each girl's few personal affectations it looked much like any other dorm. A bit smaller and less ornate in its decor than he remembered Goodwyn House's being, but similar.

One of Sofia's affectations, as it were, was his own coat hanging on a hook next to the bed. Greylock, however, said nothing of this, and instead went to snooping. Picking up her things and putting them back down conspicuously, etc. As expected, this got her attention again and a "C-can you not?" as she made her way toward him.

"But Sofia!" he implored in a faux-dramatic tone. "If you don't want me visiting you anymore then I have to make the most of this rare opportunity!"

Sofia pursed her lips and huffed an annoyed sigh as she stopped perhaps two or three feet away, crossing her arms. Daring him to test her patience, perhaps? Or perhaps trying to appear more annoyed than she truly was. … Pushing more buttons seemed like as good a way as any to figure out which it was~

"Oh! Be careful!" he warned suddenly, causing Sofia to startle-jump and look around for the source of his concern. But Greylock smirked and elaborated, "We wouldn't want anyone walking in and getting the wrong idea! Better keep your distance from the daaaangerous boy! Can you imagine the rumors!" He waggled his eyebrows, only to be disappointed when Sofia didn't laugh.

"I- It's my bed. You're the one who needs to move," she insisted.

Greylock frowned, then sighed lightly. "All right, all right. No need to get in a tizzy."

Sofia quickly turned to the door. "Tizzy?"

Hm? … OH. Greylock laughed. "No, the expression, not your House's prefect."

This did get a chuckle, if an unsteady one, from the girl. "Right, sorry. I guess I'm just… a little nervous."

Grey couldn't imagine why. Literally no one would actually think anything unsavory was happening here; that was the joke. Hahaha, clearly the gayest boy in school is here to raid panty drawers and seduce all the girls, that is most definitely a plausible assumption. Still, despite his amusement at his own thoughts, he decided it best not to drag it out or antagonize her further right now.

Not that he had a chance to do so, as by the time he'd decided this she was asking, "You never did answer, though; why were you here in the first place?"

Right, he still needed to justify that. "Well my Microbiology class let out a bit early today - Professor Ginko had to head out for some field work or something - so I was hoping to talk to you before Lit class. Of course, by now we're both running dreadfully late, most likely."

Sofia's eyes widened, and her mouth seemed to mull over a few different words before sputtering, "Fish!"

"Pfffwhat?" Grey snorted, but Sofia was too busy grabbing her bag and ensuring she had all her supplies to notice.

Checking the time, she noted, "If we hurry we can actually still make it."

"Ah, good," said Grey, calmer than he felt he ought have been, given he couldn't really afford more tardies himself. As he got to his feet, he took a last look around - at his coat still hanging there, at the things on Sofia's table. She moved past him to lock her drawer before heading toward the door. That struck him as a little strange, given she left plenty of knick-knacks on top of the dresser totally unguarded. Then again, reconsidering the value of those things, perhaps it wasn't so strange. After all, there wasn't exactly a long list of thieves just itching to take a cheap bracelet, or a well-used brush, or a gaudy hair bow...

"You coming?" she asked over her shoulder.

Grey was following her at a few paces, now, hands in his pockets not at all suspiciously. "Yes, of course. Be right there."

They talked a little more on the way to class, but Sofia felt more distant than usual. After the second attempt at conversation died, Greylock began a mental inventory of possible reasons for the change in behavior. Was she more uncomfortable than he'd thought about sex jokes, even when they were clearly baseless? Was she upset because he'd been messing with her things? Perhaps she was the sort for whom one's quarters were a sort of sanctuary, and just his being there actually had upset her, if for different reasons than she'd said?

"I am sorry, by the way," he broke the silence.

"Hm?"

"For upsetting you before." He hated to drag out the tension but he really did need to know what specifically to avoid in the future. "You know how I get, pushing jokes too far and all."

"Oh! No, you're fine," she said, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "I mean, you did, in a couple ways, yeah. But not… too too-far, if that makes sense, heh. Just normal Greylock levels. It would be hard to be friends if I couldn't deal with that."

"You flatter me," he said, rolling his eyes. But after a moment, he added, "Are you sure, though? You seem a bit…"

"Ah, sorry I'm just. Spacey today. When you came in-" She went quiet rather suddenly. Spacing again, was she?

But she'd said enough. "It must be an awfully interesting book," he commented. "You were almost late all on your own."

Sofia gave a nervous laugh. "Y-yeah, well." Her pause was a little too long before, "I guess I have to admit it: I like steamy romance novels." Greylock wondered if she'd been picking up notes from Cedric in the art of lying, but he didn't question. Besides, with the little blush and averting of her gaze she added, it was both rather good acting if she was lying and awfully cute either way. He could abide that. "It's a little embarrassing…" she mumbled.

Grey smiled. "You'll have to tell me about it later." They were just outside the door to class now, with little more than a minute to spare, but at least they'd made it. With a wink, he said in a hushed tone, "I love steamy romances" And Sofia's baffled expression made that exaggeration entirely worth it.

* * *

Sofia sat down to her desk in Enchancian Literature class, and despite the fact that her mind wanted to go about three places at once, did her best to pay attention when it started. They'd finished Beowulf, and would be starting something new. As it turned out, they'd be reading aloud in class today the play Romeo and Juliet. Someone muttered behind Sofia that they were in secondary school and shouldn't have to go through this, and someone else actually managed to as the teacher why they had to. "For the experience!" said Professor Higgins. "Plays, especially those in meter, are as important to _hear_ as they are to understand, at least in part. Don't worry, we won't be spending a week on this, but you need to hear at least some of it."

And so the class sighed, and people were chosen to speak. Well, first, Higgins asked for volunteers, and Sofia had to chuckle at the way Greylock waved his hand in the air and bouncing a bit in his seat. He kept silent, though Sofia could easily imagine him saying 'Pick me, pick me!'

So he was noted, down as Sampson, and… no one else was volunteering. With a slight sigh, but a smile, Sofia raised her hand and was put down for Lady Capulet, to Sofia's chagrin. Of course. After that no one else followed Sofia's lead, so random students were chosen for the other roles, and then they were to start... And Higgins had forgotten to choose a narrator. "Sofia, you were the only other person aside from Greylock to volunteer, would you start us off?"

Huh. Sofia cleared her throat and read aloud, "Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene, from ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean." A short breath, and she kept going, though not for long - the prologue wasn't terribly long. It shouldn't be, for a play, that would be a rather boring performance. Still, it meant Sofia had to put her best into this, to make it interesting and varied while she could, given Lady Capulet's single line.

When she was through, Greylock took over for a moment, with a very energetic line from Sampson, and was answered with a very apathetic line from Gregory. As the two bantered - or rather, Greylock _tried_ to banter with the other student who just did not care - Sofia was watching her friend and drifting off into her thoughts, though at least the staring wouldn't be noticed given how excitedly he was acting in his seat.

Was that last comment from him, before they got into class, saying he knew what the book actually was? If so, did he know what Cedric has written in it? What specifically she'd been reading when he found her in his room?

On the other hand, he seemed pretty nonchalant. With her bad half-truth, if he'd seen the journal himself, he probably would have guessed she'd just gotten to the bit - one of several bits, maybe? - where Cedric had doodled on a page, such that it was hard to interpret it as anything _but_ self-indulgent day-dreaming regarding a crush on Greylock. The next had had a badly-written poem, same level of quality as some others she'd found in the book, but rather than being about _blackness and death and oh I'm so dark and edgy_ , it was about love. It… was still badly dark-and-edgy, but sappy, 'you lift me out of the darkness and stand by my side' and other such things Sofia couldn't quite remember. Given the lack of dates on the pages, it _could_ have been about her, but she somehow doubted it.

Sofia found herself entirely unbothered by this revelation. She knew logically that she probably ought to be jealously guarding Cedric, given how she'd seen everyone else deal with third parties intruding on relationships, but she just… couldn't find it within herself to do that. Technically there was the possibility that these entries were old and no longer applicable, that Cedric had grown out of his crush, but that wasn't the reason Sofia felt okay with it. If anything, that thought made her a bit sad, because the two _did_ work so well together. Which was… probably rather _odd_ to be thinking, but-

"Sofia! Line," barked Professor Higgins, a tad annoyed, and Sofia came out of her daydreaming. Whoops. She turned pages quickly as she tried to find her line, too hurried to be as subtle about it as she'd have liked. Her amulet thrummed slightly against her chest just before she read her line, though she didn't think she really needed its help to stumble over the words. She got the message, though, and did her best to keep up with the speakers for the rest of the period, pushing away thoughts about Cedric.

...For a bit, anyway. For the rest of that class, and any time throughout the day she found herself beginning to dwell, she pulled herself out and paid attention to what was going on in class, catching up with notes when necessary. After Literature was General Sorcery, which she shared with students a year or so younger than her, which was… interesting. Not that Sofia didn't like her classmates, they were wonderful; and it wasn't that she wasn't used to learning with children of different ages, the village school was much smaller and much less funded than Hexley Hall was, to say the least. It was just that _here_ , that was unusual. Here, she was reminded that she was beneath most of the other students.

But she was improving. And even thoughts of Cedric and the fact that his journal probably didn't look like a 'steamy romance' had a hard time diverting her attention from this. Sofia was improving at a good rate, which was encouraging, but she wasn't about to let her guard down and fall even further behind her peers.

After _that_ , though, was Botany. Technically there wasn't a whole lot of actual magic here, but knowing and handling plants was incredibly useful for potion-making, given most of the ingredients tend to be flora rather than fauna.

Sofia had thought she'd managed to push Cedric out of her head for a bit, at least enough to focus - she'd seem him in like an hour anyway. But no, here she was, working with plants today, and wishing he'd happened to be here in the greenhouse to run into.

Of course, the real reason Sofia was wanting to see him was the journal, which she couldn't bring up. Still, she could… maybe beat around the bush a bit, see if anything shook out without directly attacking the question? That was probably still risky, though; not to mention, there was probably more information in the journal itself that she just hadn't gotten to. She sighed to herself, and cut a sprig of rosemary as she was instructed, and got a whiff of its scent.

...It didn't smell right? Sofia leaned in again and yes, she was smelling the rosemary, not another plant; but it didn't seem at all like what the rosemary Cedric kept on his herb shelf did. Normally she wouldn't remember, but she liked that smell a lot, sometimes took a bit - that one with permission _at least_ , though it's not like she took the journal _intentionally_. Still, it was just odd? Unless - of _course_ , this was a live plant. Something about the process of drying it for storage must make it smell like that.

She shrugged and got back to her assignment of collecting fresh cuttings of various plants, though made sure to keep well away from the resident Weird Magic Thing - in the greenhouse's case, a golden flower that was sentient and tended to bombard anyone in range with 'friendliness pellets'. Still, it - uh, they? - couldn't move from their pot, and so aside from yelling was relatively harmless. Most of the plants near it were poisonous anyway, given how this "Flowey," according to the sign, had managed to rip out anything else. Somehow. Even though they had no arms nor leaves to use as arms, or anything.

And finally, the official school day was over, though Sofia only had a short break before it was off to tutoring with Cedric.

Their sessions had grown longer since they'd started dating, mostly because both Sofia and Cedric were determined to get through all the content of the day, but Sofia also tended to get distracted, or be distracting; not to mention Greylock's nonsense, when he was around, though his tomfoolery was nothing new. Today he was in fact there, and was working on some homework as the other two revisited her conjuring spells, working yet again with control. She was definitely getting better, and relying less than before on her incantation being quiet or her movements being small.

Sofia was a little sad that she wasn't learning new things from Cedric much these days, as he probably would have been willing to do the old cliche of having his body close to hers, taking her hand in his own, and showing her what it felt like to do it right. Oh well.

The simple light spell, Lux, seemed to be under Sofia's fingers, finally - figuratively and literally, as she could put her hands together and cover the ball of light entirely. She still wasn't able to make it quite the pinprick that Cedric could, or some of her own classmates for that matter, but this was better than the irregularly vacillating number she had before, which at best was the size of an apple, and often was the size of a small watermelon, though could get much larger. For once, the size was about average, but the shifting energy level was not, and… But now, now she could control it, if she concentrated, much like every other spell she'd gotten the hang of with Cedric.

"So," Cedric said rather suddenly after she'd successfully conjured witchlight and kept it small for the third time, "so. You, ah, wanted to gallivant about at night some time, didn't you?"

 _That_ certainly wasn't what Sofia was expecting. "I do," she said, and thought for a moment. "I've thought about asking you to go a few more times, but now that it's actually been brought up again, Iii remember that I never actually got any sort of map to avoid the whole getting lost thing again."

Greylock snickered where he sat, though didn't look up at either person, or otherwise acknowledge the two at all. He _could_ have been laughing at something in his textbook, though this didn't seem likely since it was the textbook for Dark Arts and Wicked Wizardry - which Sofia heard was surprisingly dull, given the subject matter.

Cedric threw a quick glare at Greylock, started to say something - and paused, mouth open, before he managed anything. He looked back at Greylock, more subtly this time, though still not terribly so. He looked at Sofia, and his mouth was screwed in thought.

"Maybe we should take a _guide_ , then," Sofia said and sat down, now all three at the table. "Maps are hard to read in the dark, anyway. But a person who knew their way around - _that_ would be handy."

Cedric blinked. "I mean, yes, but-" and he cut himself off.

Was… she not thinking the same thing as him, after all? ...Well, she liked the idea, whether it was originally his or hers. "Yes, but," she said, continuing at least what might have been a train of thought leading from his, "it couldn't be just anyone. The best candidates for knowing the grounds, the professors, are _clearly_ out of the question. Even among the students, though, it would need to be someone who's been here a while, who just wanders the campus, who goes places he oughtn't anyway…" Whoops, let a pronoun slip. The way Greylock was biting his lip, he seemed to have noticed, though he was still insistent on pretending to read his book.

Cedric didn't seem to notice anything. "I, I guess? But that wasn't my point, so much as, ah. Well. Isn't this supposed to be - ah, ro-romantic, or sssomething?"

Sofia grinned a bit. "That's true. So someone close, who we wouldn't mind being around, who wouldn't mind being around _us_ , and spending time alone with the two of us."

"But who on Gaia's green Earth could possibly fit _that_ description, Sofia? I think this whole notion of a guide is ill-conceived."

That seemed to be the last straw for Greylock as he _finally_ looked up and said, "Well, I don't know, but _I_ can think of someone who fits the criteria rather well, if I do say so myself."

Cedric looked at Greylock and face-palmed. "The answer was _literally_ right in front of me," he said to no one in particular.

"Sooo is that a yes?" Sofia leaned over the desk, trying to see into Cedric's eye - the one he wasn't covering with a hand, anyway.

She needn't have bothered, as he took his hand back to look at her, face scrunched. "Is _what_ a yes," he said, with a bit more bite than Sofia really thought was necessary.

Still, Sofia might as well finish what she started. "Would you mind Greylock coming along on our - what did you call it? Escapade?"

"I believe the word I used was 'gallivant,'" Cedric said.

There was a moment of silence, as Cedric thought, probably. It might have been longer, but Greylock interected, "Now, hold up. No one asked _me_ if I wanted to come along."

That was… true. However - "Wasn't what you said earlier an offer?"

"Dear Sofia, that was responding to your baiting. Continuing the joke, and all." Another pause, then he continued, "You are right, I definitely _am_ game, I just wanted to point out you never actually asked, you _assumed_. And you know what _ass_ -uming does to people."

Sofia rolled her eyes and chuckled, then looked back to Cedric who was, for the record, smiling. He breathed a small sigh, then said, "Oh, all right. It was probably sheer luck that - hey, _wait_. Wait one Merlin's moment, does Greylock-" Cedric turned to Greylock and continued speaking to him, "Grey, do you even know your way around the school any better than either of us?"

Greylock straightened in his chair. "As a matter of fact, I do, Faith-nicked. Drama tends to let out late, after sunset by the time the production's really in full swing, most years. Not to mention I might just like wandering. How did you not know this?"

"...I suppose you do get back to the room late sometimes?" Cedric's eyebrows knitted, and he shrugged and sighed again. "I suppose I don't have any other reasons to say 'no,' do I."

Sofia blinked in surprise and dismay, but before she could manage to say anything, Greylock stepped in with "Of course you do! A simple 'I'd rather you didn't, Greylock ol' chum of mine, I want to have plenty of sloppy makeouts and you'd ruin the whole affair' would do quite nicely." He paused to chuckle at Cedric's mortified expression, then continued, "Or an _actually_ simple 'No reason, but no,' either way. I don't want to invite myself along on your date."

Cedric was still wide-eyed and mouth scrunched, in that way Sofia figured was probably his equivalent of blushing. Sofia managed to find her voice first, somehow, and said, "Well, technically I invited you, but without clearing that with Cedric first..." She shrugged, words to finish her thoughts lost yet again, though some of them she didn't want to be finished. Her ulterior motives in this weren't exactly malicious, in seeing the two interact more with each other, observing them. Figuring out whether or not Cedric's crush was still active or not, or at least a good start on that. Ideally, the asking itself might have been that too, but Cedric was just his own grumpy self, as usual - which may mean that there was nothing there anymore, or that he was quite as romantically fond of Greylock as he was of Sofia (or as he was non-romantically fond of Greylock, for that matter?), or that he only tolerated Greylock's presence after all, or that he was just especially grumpy that day. Of course, Cedric was always hard to read.

"Both of you, quiet. It's hard to think with all your prattling on." Oh. Sofia looked down at having been called out like that, though she'd already been silent for a few moments.

Greylock, who'd not said anything for even longer, also said "Sorry," earning a sharp look from Cedric. Greylock then closed his mouth with a snap, mimed locking it, and threw away the imaginary key.

Cedric sighed, and took a moment to think. "Don't look so glum either. I always snap, I'd have thought you knew that." ...He hadn't looked at or specifically addressed Sofia, but, well, Greylock wasn't exactly looking glum. "Anyhow. That probably is a good plan, with regards to Greylock tagging along. I had no specific plans, his ideas or otherwise , so there was nothing he could 'interfere' with, and-" Cedric stopped short, bit his lip and drummed his fingers on the table. Neither friend interrupted his thoughts this time. "This isn't the sort of rule-breaking I'm usually comfortable with, and while having Greylock come with is honestly more likely to get us caught than less, I still do rather like the idea."

Well, that was... not quite what Sofia was expecting. ... and still inconclusive when it came to possible-crush. Of course, one statement here or there wasn't likely to prove anything on its own , but Sofia was finding it difficult to even classify 'evidence' as for or against, let alone be able to weigh the options.

"Mmm mwe mMMmk moow?" Greylock... 'said'.

"Wh- What on Gaia's green Earth are you doing , Greylock?" Cedric asked, and Sofia couldn't help but giggle at his grimace.

Greylock pantomimed unlocking his mouth, which was just incredibly necessary , and said, "May we speak now?"

Cedric groaned. "You just did, didn't you?"

"Well, I tried to ask without speaking, but you weren't understanding it."

"Did you know, there's this new invention, it's called paper . And pens! You have at least fifteen of them, I - I think I still have that one from earlier this month."

Sofia wasn't sure what they were talking about, but Greylock seemed to. "You still have my pen fifteen ? Delightful. I hope you're treating it well, dear ~" Greylock wiggled his eyebrows at Cedric, who turned away and pouted. ...Well at least that was one for the 'in favor of crush' pile.

"So," she started, half to distract her from her frustration, "What time, then?"

Cedric looked distressed at this, before Greylock clapped him on the shoulder - which he shifted away from. So, one for the 'against crush' pile. Fish sticks and beaver dams. Greylock, however, wasn't finished, and took Sofia from her thoughts by saying, "I'd say after supper, we ought to all work on our homework, you most of all. When, and only when you're finished, you can come fetch us - as you have in the past. I fall asleep and wake up fairly easily, so while I may be out by just shake me a bit and I'll be up and at 'em. And ol' Bed-sick here is quite the insomniac, so I imagine he'll still be up."

Sofia looked to Cedric for confirmation, who grimaced, shrugged, and finally, reluctantly, nodded.

"Speaking of supper-" Cedric said, looking at the wall clock, "we probably ought to get moving." The other two looked as well, and after a quick cleanup of the room - without magic, given what happened the _last_ time they tried to hurry up the cleaning process due to lateness - the three of them were heading down the stairs.

* * *

 **A/N: Excuses, excuses! Life happens, and certain aspects of this made it hard to pick up this past winter after NaNo. Thanks to those who've been interested in the continuation of this piece in the meantime, and here's to hoping I can keep up steam for future chapters!**

 **A/N 2: ...something like a month and a half after I posted this chapter I was going through my doc for organization purposes and I realized _I had forgotten to post half the chapter._ Hopefully this all makes more sense now! Haha,,,**


	16. The Root of Evil

Greylock stood leaning over his desk, trying to see himself in a hand-mirror there while both hands were occupied with the hair bow he was attempting to clip to his collar. After repeated failures, he thought to tie a ribbon around his collar, and clip the bow on to _that_ instead. It seemed to work, in that at least the bow was staying in place. It was hard to say if it was straight, but… that didn't matter much. Perhaps not being quite straight - well, aside from apropos of how nearly _nothing_ about Greylock was 'quite straight' - but perhaps, more to the current idea, it would make the bow more noticeable, which was the point, though having it crooked may also be overdoing it.

…'Overdoing it' was practically Greylock's middle name. He took one corner of the bow and tugged it downward, putting it at about a thirty-degree angle (or so, Greylock wasn't a mathmagician) from the horizontal.

Satisfied, Greylock stood up straight - there was that word again, but he'd already made his pun with it, time to move on - stood up and turned to Cedric, who sat reading on his bed opposite Grey. "Hooow do I look?" Grey asked, striking a dramatic pose with one hand behind his head to emphasize his face.

Cedric looked up from his book. "Just as _handsome_ as ever, Greylock." That was… obviously a dig, a witty response to banter, but it was still a bit surprising to actually hear Cedric say that, especially since the joke wasn't that Greylock was actually ugly, but that he _did_ care perhaps overmuch about his appearance.

"Also, your bow tie's on crooked. Since _when_ precisely do you wear bow ties?"

Greylock grinned. "As of now." ...Perhaps the crookedness of it was a bit much even for him, though. He straightened the bow again, at least well enough. It was only for the benefit of one person anyhow.

Greylock glanced at the door. He waited for a moment, two.

Huh. His narrative sense was telling him that she'd have appeared when he thought that, but it seemed to be a bit off for now.

"So, Kendrick. Did you ever find that- what was it you'd lost, again? A notebook?" Might as well pass the time.

It took Cedric several moments to answer. Greylock thought that Cedric may not have heard, and was about to shrug it off and find something else to do, when he finally said, "A journal would be a more accurate word, but yes that's it. And no, I haven't."

"That's a shame. I'm sure it'll turn up eventually." Cedric didn't respond to that, though it took Greylock a few moments to know for sure. He waited a few additional moments, or would that just be a short while at this point? When did a drop of water stop being a drop, when did a pile of something stop being a pile?

Good questions, for another time. For now, since Sofia was apparently not actually about to arrive, it would probably be wise to get back to homework until she did.

Just as Greylock got settled and found his place in his text book, there was a knock at the door. Of course it would be, that should have been obvious - Greylock was even a little angry at himself for not guessing that would happen.

"Last chance to back out, Cedric!"

* * *

"If you look to the left, you'll see- well, I don't actually visit the greenhouse much. Flow'r-pick, would you like to do the honors?"

Cedric and Sofia both gave Greylock an odd look. "What's that about the floor?" Cedric asked before Sofia could figure out the joke. "I feel as if floor-slick would make a bit more sense, or something along that vein."

A - was that _nervous_? - chuckle escaped Greylock's lips before he said, "Ah, no. Picking flowers? It was supposed to be a part of the joke." He put a hand on the back of his head and grinned.

"Mm. I think you'd be better served to just pronounce both syllables rather than-" Cedric cut himself short. "Ah, that is…"

Greylock fell back a bit to be even with Sofia and Cedric, and put his arm around the other boy's shoulders. "Is that _permission_ I hear?"

Cedric's eyes widened, and looked at Greylock - whose face was only a few inches from his, especially after turning head to look - then looked back at Sofia. After a moment's hesitation, he shrugged off Greylock's arm with a scoff. "At any rate, I have no desire to play into this little _tour guide_ game anymore."

All right, so obviously avoiding the permission question. Cedric was a grumpy butt, so he probably didn't want to just be like 'yes, sure, I think it's adorable' or whatever. But directly saying 'no' might _actually_ stop it, which apparently Cedric didn't want.

On the other hand, Cedric seemed to be trying to put distance between himself and Greylock, and he _did_ dislike sudden unexpected contact, which Grey had to know and was just casually disregarding. So… Sofia was still coming up unsure, but was leaning towards Cedric having lingering feelings, probably. Maybe.

Or perhaps he was embarrassed he'd ever been interested, or maybe Greylock had gotten a hold of the journal at some point in the past and drawn the doodle in it to mess with Cedric a bit more.

She was getting nowhere with this. Sometime later, she'd have to just ask Cedric after all, though there was no reason to believe-

"Now you listen, Greylock," Cedric said with a sharper tone of voice than before, "just because _I_ didn't feel like giving a lousy tour description doesn't mean you can just- that's not-"

Whoops. Sofia briefly wondered what she'd missed.

Greylock was grinning. "Are you saying I'm wrong?"

"I- I- " Cedric huffed a sigh, then continued, "You wanted to do a tour? Then yes, let's do that. You're coming with me to see inside it. You'll keep your hands to yourself, though, as picking any old flower in there may leave you rather worse for the wear." Cedric turned to Sofia and said, "You know that, yes? You'd corroborate what I'm saying?"

Sofia shrugged and smiled, saying, "Uh, yeah! Definitely." There wasn't much else she could do, really, and the idea of going into the greenhouse at night was- well, more exciting than the rest of the campus. It was still… _interesting_ but apparently not as strange or supernatural feeling as it had last time.

Unnnfortunately, the feeling of close, quiet tranquility that Sofia might have found in the greenhouse was broken by the semi-quiet bickering of Cedric and Greylock. Or was that banter? Either way, this entire excursion seemed to be shaping up to be a failure in both the 'have fun while breaking silly rules that the Amulet didn't care about' and the 'try to decide what the specific nature of Cedric's feelings regarding Greylock are' departments. Apparently two great things do _not_ always go great together.

"As you might _notice_ ," Cedric said, at the front of their little line between the aisles, "there aren't even many flowers _in_ here. Some of these herbs are flowering plants, and- well, of course there's the experiment or _whatever_ he is."

Greylock snorted and said, "I didn't expect you to gender inanimate objects." He then promptly ran into Cedric, given the latter had stopped walking.

In a strained voice, Cedric said, "Do you really-" then cut himself off. "Sofia, do you hear what he's-? Oh, ah, right. Nevermind."

Right? Right _what_ exactly?

Sofia didn't have time to ask, as Cedric was already tugging Greylock's wrist and leading him down to the other end of the greenhouse. When she caught up, she could hear a high-pitched voice saying, "Oh, _howdy_ Cedric! Golly, isn't it a bit early for you to be back? It's only been a few days since I last saw you here." It took Sofia a few moments to realize it was coming from the golden flower. Huh she didn't realize it - _he_ could talk, or even had a face. He was pretty cute, if you ignored the posted warning signs.

"Yes, hello Flowey. We'll be out of here shortly enough, I just-" Cedric abruptly stopped talking and looked quite worried, and glanced at both Greylock and Sofia.

Sofia glanced around too, but didn't see anything. Still, "Did you hear something?" she whispered, already starting to kneel down below the planting tables.

Greylock… didn't seem to be as worried about that, instead looking hard at Cedric, levity gone from his face.

Cedric blinked a few times, before whispering back, "Ah, yes, I did. Probably drawn by Flowey's voice, it _is_ loud and piercing, let's, ah, move. And quickly. Don't want to be caught."

He started to move away, but Greylock caught his wrist before he got too far and said, "Cedric, are you-"

Greylock's words were interrupted by several white pellets popped into existence, sound effect and all, around Greylock's chest, and one in front of his face. "Golly, I wouldn't do that if I were you," came Flowey's voice from the table. "He's the only human besides Frisk who's any fun to talk to. The rest of humanity?" He cackled, and his voice took an… otherworldly, almost, strained quality.

"I couldn't care less for you _idiots_." The ring of pellets started closing in around Greylock's chest, though the one in front of his face stayed in place.

Greylock barked a mirthless laugh. "All right, but not until-"

"Just _let go_ , Grey," Cedric said, tugging his wrist but keeping his eyes on the floating ring of pellets. "You don't know how those hurt like- like- _just let go!"_ His voice became more strained as the ring closed in, thankfully slowly.

Sofia huffed a sigh and added, "Can't whatever it is _wait_? This area's off limits to the younger students, and I'd bet _he's_ the reason why." Not to mention the poisonous plants grown here for some older students' and the professor's research, but that wasn't relevant at the moment.

With a smile that was too wide to be genuine, Greylock dropped Cedric's wrist. "Honestly, all this just raises _more_ questions, but yes, I'll drop it. And we were leaving, weren't we, Cedric? You heard a bad excuse coming to find us?" The pellets around his chest had stopped moving in, but had not moved out, either.

Cedric sighed. "Flowey, if you hurt this boy I very much doubt if I would be able to come back and talk with you anymore. He's- just please drop the bullets."

Flowey turned to look at Cedric and- oh, wow, Sofia hadn't noticed when his faced changed to look rather frightful, and she honestly didn't see much now as it morphed back into its previous simplistic and cute smile. "Sure, whatever you say, buddy ol' pal of mine! Don't bring any more folks back here though, golly, it's almost like they don't know how to deal with me, or something." Most of the pellets fell to the ground and seemed to pass through it harmlessly, though the one in front of Grey's face remaind.

Cedric began to talk again, but Flowey interrupted. "You're not off the hook, buddy." The last pellet moved too fast for anyone to react to, flying at Cedric's face, landing in his left eye. Cedric let out a muffled cry, but bit his lip to suppress anything more.

Sofia and Greylock bumped shoulders as they both tried to get to him, and Sofia only barely heard Flowey say, "Don't be one of the idiots."

Whatever, he wasn't important right now, Cedric was. And it looked like Cedric's eye was - probably red, and hurt a lot, but it wasn't bleeding, it looked… okay? He wasn't literally dying, which was… pretty common with eye trauma."Do you need the infirmary?" she asked. "It's probably a good idea, even if we will-"

"No, no his bullets don't… work quite like that. Eating something has helped the most in the past, so let's just… get back to our rooms."

* * *

Greylock stood next to Cedric's bed as the latter ate one of the scones from… whenever that was. It was probably incredibly stale by now, but didn't look moldy or anything, so that was good, his preservation charm had worked. Or they were just dry pastries to begin with.

Hopefully Sofia would be able to make it back to her dorm. The plan had been for Grey to lead her back, but they both agreed that Cedric needed him by his side - though Greylock had more reason to believe that than Sofia.

"Cedric, are you doing all right?" he said, finally.

Cedric looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "I was just shot in the eye, how do you _think_ I feel."

The eye looked better than Greylock expected, actually. Still, "That's not what I mean, and I think you know that. Damage without scars, I - you're not intentionally antagonizing that flower, are you?"

With a laugh, Cedric said, "Of _course_ not, Greylock!" He also didn't meet Grey's eyes.

"So then, Cedric," Greylock continued with a sigh, "why is it that you feel the need to sneak out after I fall asleep, apparently rather regularly."

A moment passed. "...You caught that."

Grey nodded. "I did."

"I, uh, you _see_ ," Cedric said, glancing Greylock's way finally, but only for a moment before returning his gaze to the scone still in his hand, "I'm… I like to pretend that my personal herb collection is entirely school sanctioned, but it - it exceeds expectations by a considerable margin?" And finally Cedric actually held Greylock's gaze, though he wore an odd expression.

Still… "And that's really the only reason? No -" Greylock couldn't bring himself to say the words, so pantomimed instead, dragging the fingers of one hand across the wrist of the other. "Nothing like that?"

Cedric heaved a sigh. "It's only for herbs, I can guarantee you that."

"You don't have to sneak around _me_ for that, Flower-pick old pal. You know I don't care."

With a snorted laugh, Cedric said, "See? I _said_ that it worked better just leaving it two syllables."

Greylock smiled and clapped a hand on Cedric's shoulder. He… well, it didn't matter so much what he wanted right now. So a quick squeeze, then he went back to his own side of the room.

"Familiaris comhericus," he said, and Fiyer- ah- right, girl. He still hadn't thought of a better name for her. Maybe Ilianora? - whatever her name was, she appeared in a puff of smoke. "Go hop out the window and make sure Sofia gets to her dorm safely, would you? Or is already there."

From the other side of the room, Cedric said, "So, what was the point of wearing the awful bow tie, again?"

…

"Frodo's frilly frock."


	17. Good Old Days

Greylock walked into the History classroom, and Sofia greeted him with a wave as usual, before she did a double take.

He was wearing a large bow in his hair, clipped to what little ponytail he could make with his hair. Honestly, that would have been quite enough to garner attention in this school, but it was also a _terrible_ bow. It was plaid patterned, with… probably? ..the most present color being a navy blue, with orange, yellow, and green accents in the worst placement possible. On paper, consecutive colors like that ought to be a good palette, but somehow this bow made it look terrible.

Which also made the bow very recognizable, unless someone _else_ had awful impulse control and visited Dunwiddee regularly. Not that everything from the village shops was bad, far from it - the quality was good, hand-made with love rather than with magic… but the things made from ends and pieces were often - _interesting_ and nearly unique was a good way to put it.

She opened her mouth to try to say something, but he just gave her a wink and turned to go to his seat.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, Sof," came Shauna's voice from Sofia's other side, "but- Greylock's bow. That's _yours_ , isn't it?"

Sofia had to take a moment to blink at Shauna. "I know you guys pay attention to things, but I've literally never worn that how do you-"

Shauna shrugged and said, "Just observant I guess! So, like… How'd he get it?"

That… was a very good question. "I don't take it anywhere, so he couldn't have gotten it from a bag or-" Sofia put a hand to her lips and leaned heavily against the table as she realized. "She visited the dorm yesterday. Was it yesterday? Maybe the day before? He was even going through my things. I thought he was just teasing, making me uncomfy…"

"Your things," Shauna said, "like, the stuff on your bed and your dresser and coat-hooks?"

"...Where he was right next to his own coat, hanging on my coat hook, yes." Sofia looked towards Greylock again, but he was facing towards the front of the class, mostly. Something about the tilt of his head made her think that if he had prehensile ears, they'd be tilted towards the back of the class, though.

Shauna crossed her arms. "I wonder how this will affect the odds. Like, what does this even _count_ as? Well, gotta tell Mabel anyway. Good luck getting the bow back~ ooh, I should bet on that!" Aaand she was off towards Mabel.

Eventually the professor entered and the class settled down, but even he was taken aback by Greylock for a moment. "Far be it for me to knock unconventional headwear," he said, tipping his own stovepipe hat and earning a giggle from the students, "but you may be wise to be wary around other professors."

Class itself was uneventful, but afterward Sofia managed to catch up with Greylock. "You've made your point, Grey," she said, half laughing, "you can take the bow off now."

Greylock made an exaggerated shocked grimace and said, "Why, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

With a roll of her eyes, Sofia said, "I'll give your coat back. You could have just _asked_." Though this _was_ admittedly more amusing.

"Whooo said anything about that? I just like bows, and I'm not taking this off." Greylock tossed what little hair he had, threw her a grin and a wink, and walked off.

* * *

No tutoring session was scheduled for today, and Sofia was caught up on the rest of her schoolwork so she had free time.

Her classmates thought she was a bit silly for not wanting to spend time outside, but probably would have teased her more (good naturedly, of course! But nonetheless…) had they known she'd gone to spend it with Cedric and Greylock _anyway_.

"So, hey," she said during a lull in conversation, "the little Escapade last night didn't… go very well. I'm sorry about that." She glanced at Cedric, who sat at his desk and occasionally wrote something down. He only grunted in response, but she was more reaffirming that his eye really _did_ look better… thankfully. "So I was thinking maybe smaller things would work better as dates, and probably no Grey? At least not all three of us at once that was - difficult to coordinate." She looked to Greylock this time, who sat on his bed reading through his lines for the play… still wearing her hair bow.

He nodded, thankfully. "Sounds for the best, I get enough of Grump-tick while holed up in here."

Cedric shot him a look. "It's _still_ Cedric, and that one doesn't make even a modicum of sense."

It was still a bit of a shame that she hadn't been able to determine the _specific_ relationship status between these two on that failed date, at least. Oh well.

"Sooo, I was thinking a tea date! There's not much that could go badly with _that_ , and since you didn't like the cafés tea, we could probably just stay in and I could make you something from scratch." Sofia grinned at Cedric, knowing full well that his back was to her where she sat on his bed.

"Mmm. You could make a terrible tasting tea and cause me to whip something up on the fly." Then Cedric scrunched his mouth to one side and touched the end of his pen to his chin in thought. "Well, even that sounds rather interesting, I suppose. I approve."

Sofia clapped her hands together and said, "Ah-mazing!"

"...Come again?"

With a nervous chuckle, Sofia said, "Oh, ah, that's just- a thing I did when I was little and _apparently_ still do sometimes if I don't think about it. Little-me's catch phrase, I guess?" She shrugged, then realized Cedric couldn't see. "I dunno, sorry. I'll just - let you finish your homework and bother Grey a bit, how's that sound?"

Cedric's smile was sincere, even as he said, "Yes, please bother the ever-living daylights out of him."

So Sofia walked to the other side of the room - not that she especially _needed_ to, Greylock could clearly hear her from where she'd been, but it was the principal of the thing! And anyhow, it gave her something to talk about. Rather than asking to work on lines with Grey that would end up bothering Cedric _more_ rather than less, she picked up a box that sat on Greylock's dresser. "Ooh, a present?" she asked, looking at the plain brown paper and twine covering the box. "What's it for, I didn't think your birthday was coming up, is it?"

"Nah, it's in July. Why do y-" Grey looked up from his pages and stopped himself short before lunging forward and taking the box from Sofia's hands a bit more roughly than she'd have expected, and placed it back on his dresser.

There was a pregnant pause as Sofia looked to Greylock for any explanation, and he offered nothing but a slowly growing grin. When he did eventually speak, he pointed out the window and said, "Look, a distraction!"

Unable to hold back a laugh, Sofia had to take a moment before asking, " _What?_ "

From his desk, Cedric said, "It's probably just another of his rainbow of rubber ducks. I don't know _why_ he gets as self-conscious as that over them."

"Why didn't you just _say_ so, Grey!" Sofia said. "I wouldn't make fun of that! Though I'm a little surprised you'd care about something like that."

Greylock laughed and shrugged, but didn't say anything, which seemed a bit odd.

Cedric sighed. "You may as well drop it, Sofia. He's very protective of his fancy - what was the company's name again?"

"That's not very relevant, is it?" Greylock glanced at Cedric and continued, "But yes, I don't-"

"I know!" Cedric cut off, "Amoral Wyvern, that was it. I still don't understand why a business selling _ducks_ would name themself after a _dragon_ , though I suppose if you were to classify a cockatrice it would be a wyvern, and a chicken is _approximately_ a duck, in some respects…" Cedric trailed off and went back to his work.

Sofia was more interested in the first half of his sentence. She leaned in close to Greylock and whispered, "That's not a duck, is it."

With a sigh, Greylock sat on his bed and said softly, "So you're aware of the reputation."

Sofia sat down next to Grey, closer than she normally would, but this topic called for more discretion than usual. On the other hand, that was stranger than usual too, given what she now… _knew_ about Greylock.

"So, are you going to tell _him_?" Greylock didn't avert his gaze, but the way he crossed his arms and his slight blush made it clear that he was actually embarrassed. Imagine that, Grey, _embarrassed._

May as well use that, rare as it was. Sofia raised an eyebrow and gave a sly smile, and said, "That depends. What's in it for me?"

Greylock's eyes widened. "Um, I don't-" They were even starting to get a bit shiny.

"Sorry, it was a joke, a bad one I guess. You're fine. I didn't mean to make you upset." Even if it _was_ a bit vindicating getting _some_ of her own back, it would have been a lot funnier if he was not Legitimately Upset.

A few blinked away Greylock's threatened teariness, and he said, "I am sorry you had to learn this about me, at any rate."

Sofia was surprised that her first reaction to that statement was that _she wasn't_. That wasn't terribly appropriate to say, though, for _so_ many reasons. After what was probably too long of a pause, she said, "It's fine."

Startling both out of their whispered conversation, Cedric said rather loudly, "Now what are the two of you conspiring about?"

"Nothing!" came both voices simultaneously.

This caused Cedric to actually look up from his paper and turn their direction, squinting at them. "Silence from you two is nearly as suspicious as it is from it is from a toddler…" He snorted and went back to his page.

* * *

Suspicious as it might be for Greylock and Sofia to be quiet, them being loud wasn't particularly helpful _either_. They could go up to the tower to practice their lines, or get into whatever other mischief they'd like, as long as it wasn't _here_.

Now that they were gone, Cedric felt he might be able to make some progress… any progress, really… on his Dark Arts and Wicked Wizardry homework. An essay on the rise and fall of the wizard Grindelwald, largely.

And by 'largely,' Cedric at least partially meant that he didn't understand what else the assignment was asking. Was the point here to understand where the man went wrong? Was it asking what kinds of magic he employed, or a personal history, or the fact that said personal history seemed to Cedric to heavily imply that the man was gay or at least bi? That much wasn't overt, but the way his letters to Albus - well, it seemed more than just friendly. Was this supposed to be some sort of condemnation of that? Or was that even a _thing_ back when these two had lived, this homophobia? Of course, that didn't really affect modern interpretation of these facts.

What was the conclusion he was supposed to be drawing from this? _Why_ were they learning about this, anyway? Last year's DAWW had focused largely on defense against the titular magic, teaching just enough to be useful in a pinch.

Cedric sat for several minutes in the silence, writing and scratching out words at no faster a rate than he'd been doing while Greylock and Sofia were at least keeping him company. Frustrated, he suddenly stood up from his chair and kicked the desk, stubbing his toe for his efforts.

He paced the room. The class was DAWW, so probably just focus on the actual magic. Maybe a bit about how suspicious the man himself was, even before he Changed or what-have-you.

Speaking - or rather, thinking, whatever - of suspicious, what in the _world_ could Greylock and Sofia even have been talking about?

Wormwood wasn't even summoned and tangible, but Cedric could easily imagine what he'd suggest. _They're planning something. Greylock's suspicious of you, after last night in the greenhouse. He's assumed the worst - which you_ _ **know**_ _is accurate. They're just waiting for you to be out of the picture._

No, no, that wasn't reasonable. They like… The two of them like surprises. They like escapades, gallivants, like last night. That wasn't very _fun_ , but that was bad coincidence, nothing more.

 _Was it?_

Of course it was! It had to be. Right? ...Sofia _had_ been awfully silent last night, for having been the one to suggest the outing in the first place. What was she playing at?

No, it was just bad happenstance. They _liked_ him, for whatever reason. Sofia even adjusted her date ideas to fit him better, when things like last night happened and it wasn't fun for him. Well, it wasn't fun for anyone, but she changed her behavior to make sure he was comfortable. Usually. Right? Or had he imagined that?

Either way, tea would be nice. In the draughty tower or here, or even if she did end up just taking him to the cafe and having earl grey steeped either too long or not long enough.

An image popped unbidden into his head. _Sofia and Cedric sat at a table in his father's Royal Sorcerer workshop, though it was redecorated to suit Cedric's tastes. An older Sofia was half-smiling at an older Cedric, whose teacup was half empty and whose throat was closing up._

Cedric hit the wall in frustration. That was _Wormwood's_ idea, not his. Of course, the familiar was just a part of his own essence given physical form… but that was beside the point. "Familiarus Comhericus!" A poof of green smoke, and the offending harbinger of doom appeared. Cedric opened the window, pointed, and said, "Go! Go out there and bother someone else, I need to work."

The bird tilted his head and Cedric thought he raised an incredulous eyebrow, though of course that wasn't possible. Wormwood wasn't really an animal, but birds don't have eyebrows _to_ raise. At any rate, he hopped to the window and flew out.

With a sigh, Cedric flopped back into his desk chair. He opened a drawer on one side of it and stuck his hand in, fishing about blindly for a moment or so before he remembered that, right, his journal was still gone.

He really needed to get a new one, he could _really_ use it right now. Cedric wasn't sure if he wanted to pointlessly doodle or get out his thoughts onto paper so they'd leave him _alone_ for a little bit, or maybe just make another tea recipe for disaster.

But getting another one would be admitting that the first one wasn't coming back, would be admitting that the best case scenario was that it was destroyed.

That there was a decent chance that someone had found the blighted thing, had seen what was inside it. He didn't even know what that entailed - the book was a few years old at this point. There was definitely _compromising_ material in it, but _what_ exactly? The tea recipes were probably the most vile meaning, but given his mislabeling encryption ought not to be incriminating, at least. But what else? He'd definitely used it to blood-let his emotions a few times, but Merlin only knows what those situations _were_.

He didn't label it with his name, so at least it wouldn't be obvious that it was his… probably. Anyone who knew him would likely recognize it if they read - though obviously it wasn't Greylock or Sofia who found it, if anyone had. They'd have given it back.

Right? ...Could this have been what they were conspiring about?

...No, that was unlikely. They'd give it back, no muss no fuss, and be sorry about what they'd read or whatever.

If, on the other hand, Sascha found it…

...she'd have already used it, honestly. So it was probably fine.

Unless she was biding her time until opportunity arose to make it hurt the most.

For the rest of the evening, Cedric couldn't banish these thoughts, these things he _knew_ were nothing but paranoia, but couldn't stop thinking regardless. What if what if what if _what if._

He hadn't made any more progress on his paper by the time Greylock returned for the evening.


	18. What Is This Feeling

" _Why,_ " Greylock half-sobbed in Sofia's general direction as Twilight pulled Pinkie off of him.

Professor Higgins' voice came from offstage, calling out, "What the devil - who had the _brilliant_ idea to try a partial polymorphic charm in the middle of line reading?" He walked on stage and huffed, surveying the scene. Greylock was still on the floor, where he'd landed when Pinkie had fallen on top of him; Twilight had finished helping Pinkie up, and held her steady on her shiny new goat legs. "Stage hands, stay to clean up. Everyone else, leave. And Miss Pi, _do_ be sure to remove that charm before you're out. Don't come back with it on until you've got your legs under you properly."

Finally, Sofia managed to come back to reality, and rushed over to help Greylock up. He didn't really need her help from a physical standpoint, but his blushing grimacing face belied his otherwise calm demeanor.

"Any other lad in school," he finally managed to say, "and probably a few girls would have _loved_ to…" Greylock waved a hand dismissively towards the stage as they walked off it, towards their bags. "Why did Pinkie have to fall _chest first_ into _meeee…_ " Sofia patted Greylock on the back, not sure what else to do… or how serious his complaints were.

All the way back to Goodwyn House, Grey continued to whine. Not as much, and _definitely_ drawing it out a bit longer than really necessary at this point.

"You know, it's almost a shame I didn't get the leading lady's part," Sofia said at one point, "at least I'm not as busty as she is."

Greylock crossed his arms and pouted, well, _theatrically_. "Oh yes, then I could be only _half_ as traumatized. That's how that works, isn't it?"

It didn't take them too much longer to get to Grey's and Cedric's room, and they immediately set to getting the room ready for Sofia's and Cedric's tea date that evening. They moved Greylock's desk to the center of the room and covered it with a sheet as a makeshift tablecloth. Greylock cast a fireproof ward on the lot as Sofia looked at her list of herbs - a modified amalgam of several of the tea recipes Cedric had written in his journal.

She'd spent several days preparing this, trying to strike that balance between something he was likely to actually enjoy and something she could call her own blend - not to mention plausible deniability. Granted, only some of the ingredients were things Sofia had been able to find in the greenhouse, so this was the first time she'd actually be trying the tea herself, assuming - ah, good! The single ingredient in every one of Cedric's tea recipes was something called 'Emerald Dreamroot,' which Sofia hadn't heard of, but Cedric had a jar of it in his cabinet, sure enough, as well as Oleaster and dried Black Manaberries, which she was at least passingly aware of. They also smelled more strongly bitter than she was expecting, which was kind of odd. At any rate, they both appeared often enough through the different blends that she'd added them to the list, so into their cups the herbs went.

Greylock both conjured the fire for the kettle to sit on and the water to fill it, which was a bit embarrassing, but they both agreed that her control was - well, it was so much better than it used to be, at least, but mishaps here would be more trouble to deal with than it was worth. Finally, though, it was ready. "I'll go fetch Cedric from his tower, then. When you two are done _canoodling_ and you're heading back to Crage, tell me. I'll be in the common room. Enjoy~!" He grabbed his bookbag and was gone before Sofia had a chance to protest his word choice, though she hadn't especially planned on it anyway.

Sofia lit two candles from the flame that warmed the kettle, turned the overhead lights low, and sat to wait. Not for very long, thankfully. "Hey, uh-" She started to greet him, but stopped - were pet names appropriate at this point? ...Probably not. "Hi, Cedric. I hope you like it?"

Cedric's gaze swept across the display before him, and he said, "This will take a while to clear away," but his smile and soft tone gave away his… Was it pleasure? At least he wasn't _dis_ pleased, anyway.

That was still a valid point, though. "Don't worry," she said brightly as he sat down across from her, "I'll take care of it."

Cedric raised an eyebrow. "Really? These desks are _quite_ unwieldy."

"Eh," Sofia said, and shrugged. "I mean I'm not like a farmhand or anything, but doing most of the chores around my mom's house, not to mention helping her with work - I'm not exactly a shrinking violet." For emphasis, she put up one of her arms and flexed.

Cedric's other eyebrow joined its raised partner, and Sofia could feel herself blush a bit. Before he could say anything, though, the kettle began to whistle, prompting Sofia to pour the boiling water over the dried herbs and berries in their cups, and earning a 'thank you,' from Cedric in the process.

Which seemed a bit odd, but perhaps it was the date setting, or that Having Tea is a Super Classy Aristocratic Activity, or whatever. Anyway, Sofia wasn't complaining; she smiled and did a quick bob of a curtsy in response.

"Impressive technique on the fire charm," Cedric said, "and an extra layer of fire-proofing it feels like?" He poked at the edge of the desk experimentally.

With a nervous chuckle, Sofia answered, "Weeell, Greylock did both of those, actually. I'm better at control these days but - wouldn't want to burn down the dorm by accident, right?"

Rolling his eyes, Cedric mumbled, "That might not have been so bad…"

" _What?"_

Cedric blinked and didn't react for a moment, before suddenly sitting more upright in his chair. "Joke! That was simply, ah, nothing more than a poor jest on my part, I apologize." He laughed weakly before continuing, "And anyhow, the native wards on the building should be strong enough to stand up to anything a student could produce, even with your-" Cedric's eyes flicked down for a moment towards her chest, "enhancement."

Sofia let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "I… see. It's sometimes hard to tell when you're joking, which is fine! But you've always got that same tone of voice." She picked up her spoon and stirred her tea - not quite steeped yet it looked like, though there was the possibility she hadn't put enough herbs in for it to steep any darker than this. "But, um, that's good to know!"

Cedric nodded and took Sofia's lead, beginning to stir his own tea. "Patience is a virtue, as is caution. It was likely wise, going about it all as you did, and I applaud you for it. I don't tend to be cautious enough, and that-" He grimaced. "I didn't intend- well, yes, caution is well advised." Cedric looked down into his tea, and stirred a bit more.

Sofia put her spoon to the side and instead wrapped her hands around her mug, soaking up the warmth, but couldn't think of how to respond to Cedric's halting speech. What had happened to the easy chemistry they used to have?

Cedric continued staring at and stirring his own tea, clearly contemplative. She hoped she did his style of blending justice, given that she didn't have the opportunity to experiment with the actual results at all before tonight. She lifted her mug to her lips and inhaled, and… had to fight the urge to cough. It smelled less than pleasant, unfortunately. Too bitter, with a twinge of something slightly nauseating, enough to cause a tickle in her throat.

Sofia forced a smile to her face as she put it down, slowly, intent on hiding her disappointment and distaste. She'd never been a fan of tea, especially without honey, but she hadn't thought to bring any from one of the mealtimes. But Cedric loved his tea… What was the phrase? 'Bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword,' that was it. She could power through an unpleasant taste if it meant connecting deeper with Cedric. And who knew? Maybe, once she got over the initial reaction, she'd come to like it herself.

"Well," Cedric said suddenly, "It's been, what, four, five minutes? It ought to be ready." Sofia nodded at him, who didn't bother to nod back, just went directly to drink his tea.

Sofia was too distracted to drink her tea immediately. Instead, she asked, "How do you like it?"

Cedric drank, swallowed, and stirred his tea, though he seemed to grimace a bit. Beaver dams. "Delightful," he said, somewhat strained, clearly not used to lying like this. He stirred his tea and took another drink, at which point Sofia finally remembered she had her own tea to drink, that this wasn't about watching him try to enjoy her apparently badly-mixed tea.

There was a slight sloshing noise, and Sofia looked back to Cedric to see him spitting his tea back into his cup. "Sofia. What the _devil_ are you playing at." Heh, that was an odd curse for Cedric to use, one that while magical was actually considered a curse around non-magical folks, that would have caused her mom to chide the speaker, saying ' _Language!'_ On the other hand, hadn't Professor Higgins just used the same not an hour ago?

Silly, how her mind would wander. "Oh, c'mon, it can't be _that_ bad," she said with an altogether too self-conscious chuckle, too aware that she'd messed up. Still, time to do or die - despite the impending foul taste, she grinned at him and lifted her mug to her lips.

Before she could drink, Cedric had snatched the cup away from her. He sniffed it, for some reason, like it would be any different than his own. With a grimace, he lifted it to his own lips, and spit the sip back into the cup. He didn't return the cup to her side of the table when he set it down, he only asked, "S- Sofia, are you... all right? Do you need to talk? I'm frankly the worst at, at all that but I- this isn't-"

Sofia sighed. "All right, I get it. The tea is bad. I'd expect something this dramatic from Greylock, maybe, but isn't this a bit much?"

Cedric blinked. "If you're not- then why-" His breathing was laboured, now. Sofia hadn't noticed given he just sometimes had trouble breathing for No Particular Reason it seemed, but this was a bit much. And given the stilted talking, the breathing, and the fact that now he was just leaning his face on one hand, staring blankly at the desk…

"Are- are _you_ all right?" Sofia asked. "Are you running a fever? I suppose if you're already hot, tea wouldn't really be the best idea…"

A rather unattractive snort came from Cedric. "No, I'm not, but a fever isn't the _issue_ here. If you could tell me what, _exactly_ , you put in our tea, I'd be much obliged."

"I can do you one better, I have the list here. Not sure what that has to do with anything, though?" She dug out the paper she'd written the ingredients on and placed it on the desk. "Do you need me to fetch one of the nurses? I can get a cold compress or - well, if it's not fever, whatever else you need."

Cedric took the list, and looked at it. "This is clearly not what-" and then cut himself off, as his eyes widened. "Emerald- Did you, by any chance…" He paused, and looked up at her, teary-eyed, shaking, and clearly not all right. "Did you use the herbs from my collection?"

That wasn't what Sofia was expecting. She blinked, then shrugged, saying, "I had a few of my own from the garden, but the tea guide I found had some weird ingredients, and I saw that you had them, so- yeah. I'm sorry, I'll replace them-"

"Out _._ " Cedric pointed to the door.

"What?"

"I need time. Get out of- where did you even _get_ this list of herbs? Dreamroot in _tea,_ that doesn't even-" Cedric blinked, and waved a hand in the air, frantically but pointlessly. "Beside the point, there isn't time for that. Please leave."

Sofia moved towards the door, though slowly. "All right. I'll - I'll be in the common room if you need me."

* * *

The fireplace in the common room was starting to die down, as it was getting late, but it still gave off plenty of light and warmth, keeping away the bitter cold of the early December night. Goodwyn House students largely kept themselves to themselves, even when they chose to work in communal area. So long as it wasn't with the _riff-raff_ , Greylock supposed was the sentiment. At any rate, no one took issue with him pacing about, reading lines to himself by the fire.

When Sofia approached him from behind and lightly touched his shoulder, he visibly jumped. A glance at his watch, then, "What, so soon?"

She shrugged, but looked off to one side as she said, "Yeah, he didn't like my tea I guess!" She tried to laugh it off, but Greylock didn't buy it.

Greylock put his script aside and said, "I'm sure he appreciated the effort, nonetheless," ushering Sofia to one of the comfy chairs about the room.

"I don't know?" Her mouth scrunched into a sideways frown. "He was acting really upset, like _weirdly_ so? And I mean, it was definitely the tea that set him off. We were fine, talking, a bit of comfortable silence."

Sofia paused, and Greylock had to prompt, "Yes, that sounds fine, but…?"

"But then he tried the tea and he's suddenly acting weird - kinda like he was sick? - and shooing me out of the room. I'd say maybe he was upset that I used some of his herbs, but he didn't even ask about that until he'd already started shooing." She shrugged again. "On that note though, maybe don't go back yet. I know that was the point of me telling you when I was out, but he said he needed some alone time."

"Hmm." That sounded… moderately alarming, honestly. Maybe-

"Also, I said I'd stay here for a bit if he needed me, but I hadn't thought about the fact that you're the only other student I know in here, and I don't know if I'm _allowed_ to be here right now but without you here I wouldn't even have a good excuse, so there's that."

Greylock nodded. "Good thoughts. As for Cedric, do you know if he had a more stressful day than usual, or… something?"

Shaking her head no, Sofia said, "No idea, actually… I don't think I saw him at all before the date, actually. Was he acting weird when you got him from his tower, then?"

Not particularly, to be honest, but… "He wasn't full of vim and vigor, but no, he wasn't shooing me away, or the like."

"Maybe… maybe the bad tea was just the straw that broke the camel's back, though?"

Greylock found himself nodding again. "That sounds plausible." A bad day, able to keep it in for a while but a minor thing not turning out as hoped sending him into snippy territory. "...On the other hand," he said after a moment, "you said he was acting _sick_?"

Yet another shrug from Sofia - that was about the third one, wasn't it? "I guess? Like, weird breathing, leaning his head in his hand like when you've got a headache… Maybe his other hand was shaking?"

...Anxiety reaction, on top of everything else- "Cedric is _probably_ quite all right," he said to reassure himself as much as Sofia, "but I think we'd better ought to check on him."

Sofia started, "But he said-"

"I know," Greylock interrupted. "Still, we'd better ought to check on him." He grabbed her wrist and started pulling her along, back down the hall.

* * *

Cedric watched Sofia leave, watched her close the door behind herself, and heard the click of its latch. He took a deep breath, two, then hit the desk with his balled fist.

But there wasn't _time_ for anything else. It wasn't a large dose, but Cedric had had a whole swallow before he recognized the taste wasn't just a bad blend of flavors, but a remarkable blend of poisons. If he hadn't had his fondness for wormwood - 'Emerald Dreamroot,' as he mislabeled it on his shelves - if he hadn't known the taste of that all too well, perhaps…

No, there wasn't _time_. He needed-

Well. There were a few options here, actually. The danger to Sofia had passed. That had, truthfully, passed as soon as he took her cup away, in a bodily sense, though had she lingered there would have been no avoiding the nature of what, exactly, she'd brewed for him, and that wouldn't do.

Cedric looked at the mostly full cups of tea on the desk. He… He could just…

No, Greylock would find him. ...What would be _left_ of him. _No_. Cedric pulled out his miniature cauldron and dumped the deadly tea into it, for lack of a better receptacle. ...For that matter - Cedric looked at the herb list again. Nothing in here was immediately caustic, which was good. Expelling it was nasty and painful business, but a bit of heaving and the acrid smell of stomach acid in his cauldron was honestly a small price to pay.

Even with that done, there wasn't much time, Cedric didn't know how long any of these poisons took to work and he didn't want to find out. He needed to make the antidote quickly. He faltered often, having not prepared any plans to back out, having assumed he wouldn't need them. It was only a small dose, only one gulp. Still, the "oleaster" here, which was in actuality oleander, could do a great deal even in small doses; and "Black Manaberries" were _deadly damned nightshade._

Charcoal. Did he even have any, was that a potion ingredient sometimes? Maybe? ...Thank Merlin, he had it. Mislabled as anthracite, which ironically would have also worked. Hard to mistake charcoal for anything except perhaps actual coal. ...Another unpleasantness, but this was hardly the worst he'd dealt with.

After he scrambled about to gather and ingest anything he could think of as an antidote (that wasn't toxic on its own, anyway), he ran through the list in his head to make sure he didn't miss anything. When he decided that he hadn't, he slumped down in his chair.

This was all _his_ fault. He generally was protective of his herb collection in general, but he'd allowed Sofia to take what she liked of some of the harmless herbs for her pot pourri or as incense to burn, or whatever she used it for, he couldn't even remember. It was still a bit rude that she'd just raid it without permission, but he'd given her no reason to think that doing so would be _dangerous_. Which was… the point the the mislabeling, to an extent, but _she'd_ made a point that their tea date would be in his specific dorm room. What had he been expecting? His lack of necessary caution had put her in clear and present danger - the only saving grace being the fact that _she_ didn't know that.

This couldn't happen again. Before he really knew what he was doing, Cedric had summoned a ball of fire, and flung it at the cupboard at the end of his bed, where his herb collection lived.

While the cabinet itself was just fine, the shockwave of the magic knocked over several glass bottles, and their dry contents caught fire with little problem at all. With a small… laugh? Sob? Cedric wasn't sure - he summoned more, and his entire collection was burning.

And still, he flung small fireballs, at his cauldron, at the kettle, at his desk, at the wall, at his bed. He only stopped when he collapsed onto his bed, exhausted.

* * *

Sofia stood behind Greylock as he opened the door to his room... to find it much more _on fire_ than she remembered. And rather smellier.

It wasn't a blazing inferno, by any means. The cabinet on Cedric's side of the room was actually burning - or, more accurately, its contents were burning, while the wooden structure itself remained, as everything else, scorched or slightly sizzling at worst. What about the wards Cedric had just been talking about?

Cedric sat on his bed, staring rather blithely at nothing in particular.

Greylock took a step toward the other boy, but hesitated. "Cedric, are you… all right?"

"This is fine! I'm fine. Everything is just coming up roses!" His eyes may have met Greylock's, they may not; Sofia wasn't sure. They didn't quite seem focused, though.

There was a moment of silence before Greylock said, "That was a courtesy, Cedric. The room is on fire."

A dramatic shrug preceded Cedric's answer, "Well, it's only a _little_ on fire." Cedric started to laugh lightly, though after a moment the heaving breaths sounded more like sobs than laughs. "I couldn't break _father's_ wards if I tried…"

Sofia looked to Greylock for any kind of indication of what to do - but he seemed as much at a loss for words as she was. Eventually, she managed, "Weee… should probably do something about the fire."

Grey nodded, and they both went around the room and conjured water to stop anything sizzling from getting any worse, and the burning herbs - that's what the smell was from, then. Sofia doused the lot, causing the smoldering heap to give one last cough of smoke before settling into a mound of ashy mud and broken glass.

That last large puff of smoke finally caused Cedric to stir. "S-sofia, you- you probably shouldn't be breathing that oh _Merlin_ you shouldn't- neither of you should be- don't breathe that smoke, that can't be-" He continued babbling incomplete sentences for a bit.

That didn't sound good, but there was a relatively easy fix to that, at least. Sofia went to one of the windows and opened it, looking back at the room in time to see Greylock put a hand on Cedric's shoulder, telling him, "Deep breaths, Cedric."

"So, Cedric. I…" Sofia sighed, but pressed on. "I _really_ hate to push, but what exactly about those herbs made you rush me out of the room from the tea, and made you panic like that just now?"

Cedric's eyes widened, and he looked over to Greylock by his side. Grey said, "I'm afraid I have to second that, Cedric."

"Y-you see, there's, there's a perfectly reasonable… explanation…" Cedric looked between Sofia and Greylock, and around the room. "It's- ah-" A few more moments of looking around, until he sighed heavily, shook Greylock's hand off his shoulder and covered his face with his hands. "It was poisonous," he said softly, or at least that's what Sofia thought he said.

But that couldn't be right. "I played around a little bit with the tea recipe, but I didn't use anything that wasn't already part of a pre-written ingredients-"

"I mislabel my collection, mostly to deflect suspicion against me having such poisons. From authority or, I'd hoped, the both of _you_." Cedric's head had sunk further down, such that his fingers had combed through his uncolored bangs, and Sofia could barely see his eyes, tightly shut. "Your recipe, once run through my cipher, was impressively deadly. You're rather lucky I caught on when I did."

Greylock sat next to Cedric and looked teary as he reached out towards, but did not touch, Cedric. That… seemed like an odd reaction to Sofia. "Please tell me there's a reasonable explanation for _why_ you'd have enough poisonous herbs that you'd need to hide them."

Cedric scoffed, or maybe that was just a cough. "What do you _think_ , Sofia."

Sofia bit her lip and looked away. She'd been afraid of that. "I know you're not exactly _popular_ , but who could you even hate enough to- to plan to-" She'd have to report this to someone, wouldn't she? Have to tell authority about a failed-

" _Who!?_ " Cedric interrupted her thoughts, finally pulling his head back up. His long bangs hung askew in front of his face, but they didn't cover the redness of his eyes. "You think I'm capable of murder?" He barked a mirthless laugh, and looked away from both of them. "I don't know if I'm offended or complimented. No, I'm just, a c-coward. I just… wanted the coward's way out." His eyes were closed again, and he looked like he was bracing himself for a physical blow.

It still didn't add up, though admittedly Sofia lost the thread of this thoughts at the end there. "All right, but that still doesn't-"

This time, it was Greylock who interrupted her, saying, "Sofia, don't."

"Greylock," Sofia said, "aren't you _concerned_ that Cedric has several 'impressively deadly' herbs for some mysterious purp-"

"You dense girl!" Cedric's voice cracked as tears finally started to trickle down his cheeks. "It was only ever for _me_. I-in case I could stop being afraid of the, the physical pain for long enough to just drink the lot and b-be done with it."

"...Oh." Oh Pantheon above. "I'm so sorry," Sofia said, leaning heavily on the desk next to where she stood, trying to deal with this information. Greylock just sat with one balled hand over his mouth.

Cedric turned away from both Greylock and Sofia as he wiped his eyes, though tried to make it look like he was just pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes, well." He gulped, took a moment, then continued, "Now that y-you both know how awful I am, and my means of, of _doing_ anything about it is gone, could you perhaps just leave me to my misery?"

"No," Greylock answered. "I told you a while back that I _won't_ leave you, and I'll still stand by that." He reached to take Cedric's hand, but the latter just shook it off. "And anyhow, this is my room too, you might remember."

Sofia didn't really think now was the time for jokes, though she could appreciate the attempt; Cedric didn't seem to, given the scowl he gave Greylock. "We don't _want_ you to be miserable," she said. "We're here to _help-_ "

"And a fine job you've been _doing_ , haven't you." Cedric huffed. "Just, just tell me, 'oh, wow, I love you, don't be sad!' And it's all better, _right_? You hardly even know me, y-you've pushed me to-" He had to pause to sniffle, after which he angrily gestured to his face and glared at Sofia, then quickly looked away again.

It was a moment before Sofia could answer, "No, I wouldn't say that." That was at least partially because she was, at best, half-sure that her feelings toward Cedric could be called _love_ rather than infatuation, especially with how things had been going lately… but that wasn't important right now.

Another sniffle from Cedric, and he said, "So, what exactly is your thought process here? Stand around and w-watch me fall even further into this- this p-pile of shame, offering your _pity_?"

"No, of course not!" Sofia took a breath and a moment, and… "Yeah, I don't know how to help, though. I want to be here to help you in any way I can- tell me, _how_ can I help?"

Cedric scoffed. "Of course you don't know, you barely know the second thing _about_ me. You can help by just getting out."

" _Really?_ You're mad at me, for not knowing you." Sofia crossed her arms, pointedly not moving from the spot. "I've been _trying_ to get to know you better, Cedric. I've been trying to set up times outside of lessons to spend time, I've been setting up tea dates. I don't even _like_ tea! Cedric, I've been _trying_ to get to know you." Sofia sighed. "Every time I try to talk with you, you change the subject, or just, oh, well, what if we kissed instead! Like yes that's _nice_ but it doesn't really make for a meaningful friendship, let alone _romance_."

"So it's _my_ fa-" Cedric cut off his angry reply, and started again sounding rather defeated. "Zeus, It _is_ my fault." He collapsed back onto the bed and curled his legs up on to the edge, lying curled on his side at the end of the bed. "Why even bother? I'm just, I-I-I'm fundamentally broken. Nothing to fix, I'm just! Completely rotted through! You'd be better off leaving before I muck up again and hurt you, _again_."

Oh no, no no- each moment Sofia talked to him, she _was_ actively making things worse and worse, Cedric had been right about that much. But leaving, especially _now_ , would be implicitly agreeing with the statements preceding it, disconnected as they may be, and it just seemed like a bad idea.

Greylock managed to find his voice before Sofia did, this time. "Cedric, you are _not_ broken. I - ah, that is, you mean the _world_ to me, you know - just as you are. I will not leave, no _matter_ what you do or don't succeed at, and I don't believe Sofia would either." He took a breath, and looked towards Sofia for confirmation.

"Um, yeah." Sofia decided to go with that for the moment, though she really did need to have a serious conversation… at some point where she _hadn't_ driven Cedric into some kind of depressive episode.

Grey looked back to Cedric, and leaned over to put a hand on his shoulder. Cedric didn't shrug it off this time. "Figuratively, anyhow. _Literally_ , I believe she may get into trouble as it is, for being out of her dormitory so late."

"Oh, no, I don't mind-" Sofia stopped as Greylock made a face at her. Oh, _oh_ this was an out to get her out of there to prevent more damage without doing damage on the exit, probably. "That is to say, I'm only a message away if you need me. Any time, day or night, I promise - but for tonight, I should probably just head back, yeah. Good night?" She finally started backing up toward the door.

Cedric could barely be heard as he mumbled, "It's _a_ night, anyway."


	19. I Hope You're Happy

Greylock closed the door behind Sofia as she left the room, and looked back at Cedric laying curled at the end of his bed. He looked a bit like a small and frightened child, though the unfocused eyes were more than a bit unsettling.

Over on the other side of the room, Greylock sat on his own bed and sighed. "I'm so sorry," he said to Cedric - or rather, _at_ him. It hadn't happened often, but Greylock knew that when Cedric was like this, he quickly became totally unresponsive. Still, he continued, "I should have- I _saw_ the signs you were like this again. I just didn't want to believe it." Cedric had said he was all right, and that was all Greylock had wanted to hear, so he believed it without much scrutiny.

With a sniffle, Greylock continued softly, "I really don't know what I'd do without you, you know. I'm not even sure why you tolerate me, as irritating as I am. You're the only friend who's actually stuck with me, and I…" He wanted to say _I love you so much,_ but aside from being incredibly inappropriate given that Cedric was tied to Sofia, he already knew that Cedric didn't feel the same. Not that it mattered much, given the state Cedric was in, _due_ at least partially to Sofia pushing too far.

"I know you can't make promises, but please don't hurt yourself." _It hurts me too much,_ but of course that was selfish. "You mean so much. You're wonderful, and the world would be a much smaller, a much sadder place without you in it. I only-" Greylock was interrupted by another sniffle, and realized he was crying in earnest at this point. He took a breath and continued, "I only wish I knew how I could make it easier for you."

Greylock sat in silence for nearly a minute, unable to motivate himself to do anything at all at the moment. He was startled out of his inaction though, when he heard from across the room, "You could turn out the lights."

After Greylock did as asked, Cedric still looked unfocused, nor did he react to the blanket that Greylock pulled over him - but he didn't shrug it off either.

* * *

"So then," Greylock said as he followed Sofia into the communal sleeping area of Crage House the following afternoon, "what's so pressing that you'd bring me here yourself? You were so off-put when I visited you last time."

Sofia glanced back towards him, but quickly looked away; she'd been behaving oddly all day. Little wonder, given last night, but this still felt… off. At any rate, she reached up and took the school coat she still had of his off of the peg on the wall. Rather than doing much of anything with it, she used her other hand to unlock the drawer in the bedside table, and pulled out a small black leather-bound book, which she put in one of the large pockets of the coat.

Finally, she turned around, and said, "Greylock, I'm sorry I didn't give back your coat sooner. And… It's not labeled, but I think that journal is Cedric's, could you give it back to him?"

Greylock blinked. "Come again?"

"The handwriting in that journal, and what it said-"

"No, I don't doubt it," Greylock interrupted, "I don't understand why you would need me to give it back. He'd be delighted that you found it, he's been missing it." Greylock's heart hurt as he remembered the signs of self-harm he'd noticed but ignored, and added, "Probably more than he let on, honestly."

Sofia flinched at the response. "Well, for one, I needed to talk to you about it, too. The tea recipe I worked from last night - it _was_ my own creation, but it combined the elements of several different recipes for tea from the journal." She took a breath and continued, "And given he was able to remember his mis-labelings by heart, I think he was even closer to actually _going through_ with the plan than was even apparent last night."

"Of _course_ he- what, weren't you listening last night?" Greylock took a deep breath. Well, no, she hadn't been around yet the first time Cedric nearly went through with it, but even such it should have still been obvious he was quite serious. "Though, wait. Hold up just a moment. Are you telling me you've had that long enough to-" Greylock stopped as he realized he'd _seen_ her reading the book a while back. How long ago was that?

Greylock took the coat from Sofia's hands, rather more roughly than necessary. "I can't believe you, Sofia. I thought you _cared_ for Cedric. But you invade his privacy by reading a journal you _know_ to be his, you endanger his _life_ on your whims." Logically, he knew it wasn't Sofia's fault that Cedric was suicidal, it wasn't her fault that he had kept a stockpile of poison on-hand for a rainy day. "Dear gods above, neither of us last night even asked if he'd taken any counter-measures. It wasn't until this morning the thought even occurred to me. We're lucky-" He couldn't bring himself to complete that sentence, so instead he reached inside the pocket to retrieve the journal. "And _this_ is why, _you_ are why he was in that position in the first place."

Sofia's eyes were wide as she looked at Greylock, who was breathing hard in anger, and waving the journal about. He knew how this must look to her, happy Greylock, joking Greylock, you-can-always-come-back Greylock who never gets mad. Honestly, though, she deserved the scare. She'd put herself in this situation all on her own.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked. Any other time, that might have weakened or even broken any defenses. "I didn't mean-" Her hand went up to her collarbone and played with a lump in the fabric of her uniform's collar. "I never meant to hurt him, I just wanted to get to _know_ him better."

As Sofia took a breath between sentences, Greylock pre-empted her with, "Really? That's your excuse. Pushing him to breakdown was definitely worth it, _wasn't_ it?"

She gasped, and shook her head. "No! Not at all, I was just trying to explain." Sofia glanced to the side, then continued, "But yeah, you're definitely right. I'm guessing Cedric wouldn't be too happy that I had his journal either, but he definitely needs it back."

Greylock took a moment to think. "You'd deserve any anger he sent your way, honestly." As Greylock took a breath, Sofia bit her lip and her eyes started to shine with tears. " _However_ , what's done is done. There's no reason to hurt him more than you already have." He put the book back in the pocket of the coat she'd given back to him.

Sofia nodded. "Thank you. I-"

"Don't thank me. This is for Cedric. You-" Greylock crossed his arms and made sure he had Sofia's gaze. "I can't _believe_ you did this. This isn't the end of our friendship, but you've got a lot of work ahead of you, rebuilding trust."

She nodded hastily. "I'm so sorry. I'll try, I won't mess up again, I didn't mean for any of this." Aaand the threatened tears were starting.

Greylock sighed, and felt a lot of the anger go out of him. "Hey, look. Calm down, Sofia." She glanced up at him with wide eyes, which may have been surprised but it was hard to tell through her crying. "I _am_ angry, and none of what you did was okay- but that wasn't a threat. I do care about you as your own person, outside of our mutual connection to Cedric." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Just promise not to do anything like this again, all right? This really was _very_ far from okay, but - well, you know how I feel about mistakes."

After Sofia gave Greylock a questioning look, and he said, "You can always come back."

Sofia gave a small laugh that might have actually been a hiccup. "I never expected that to be used on _me_."


	20. Maladies and Remedies

The door to Cedric's tower study room banged against the wall when Sofia threw it open, causing her to flinch. "Sorry," she said, breathing hard. "Both for being late, and, uh-" She started to close the door behind her, gently this time.

Cedric was looking at her with wide eyes and a slight scowl, but took a deep breath and let his shoulders fall to where they usually hung. "Leave it. And yes, well, you needn't be so _dramatic_ about all that. Regardless, what would you like to study today?"

"I didn't mean to startle you," Sofia said apologetically as she sat down. "I was just-" How could she word this… "I really needed to give back something I'd borrowed, as soon as possible." Trying to make things better with Cedric managed to make things worse, though, given how on even an average day Cedric could get huffy about her being late.

Cedric did give something like an irritated, well, _huff_ , but his next words were, "Right. _Anyhow_ , we're here for tutoring. Are you struggling with anything in particular?"

Sofia shrugged. "I'm getting a bit behind on history, but I don't need _help,_ just need to sit down and _read_ that. Sooo, probably just more control practice. How are you doing, though, are you… doing all right?" She bit her lip, hoping she wasn't being inappropriately peppy or something, given last night.

Cedric stood up and kicked the chair he'd sat on backwards. "Control practice it is." He gathered up his books and papers and stuffed them messily into his bag, unintentionally reminding Sofia how she'd gotten his journal to begin with.

Soon enough, they were in the doorway, and Sofia was aiming her wand at a textbook on the table. Cedric leaned against the frame, rather than standing slightly behind and next to Sofia as he usually did, where he could direct her hand movements if necessary. "Did anything happen today?" she asked, trying to start some sort of conversation, even if not about what she'd like to talk about.

"Are you quite ready to attempt?" Cedric said.

Sofia nodded her head and whispered the incantation and moved the wand just so, and managed to lift the book - and _only_ the book - off the table. She grinned and glanced at Cedric, before looking back to the book, and even placed the book back down onto the table without issue.

"You've gotten the levitation spell under your fingers, good." It didn't sound very much like praise, the way Cedric said it. "Try a witchlight," he said, and stepped back into the room.

Before Sofia could respond, the sound of footsteps came echoing up the stairwell. She moved out of the way of the door, wondering who it could be - and nearly facepalming when she saw that it was Greylock. Just because today was… _odd_ wouldn't mean he wouldn't still study here. Nor would much of anyone else want to, honestly.

Greylock smiled at Sofia as he passed her to sit in one of the chairs, which he pulled closer to the fireplace. "Don't let me interrupt," he said, and dug out his own homework to start on.

He didn't have an extra coat on, so he'd probably gone back to his and Cedric's room to put it back. No telling what he'd done with the journal, though.

Cedric cleared his throat, and Sofia looked back at him in mild surprise. "Well? I'm waiting on the witchlight."

"Not even a 'hello' to Grey?" Sofia asked. Cedric just raised an eyebrow in response, so she cupped her hand and and whispered, "Lux." A ball of light, approximately the size of an plum, popped into existence and floated in her hand.

Cedric said, "Good. You won't need my help much longer, at this rate."

Sofia couldn't help a sharp intake of breath at that, even if Cedric's tone wasn't emotional. "Cedric, no, I-"

He interrupted, "Now that you've firmly grasped control while limiting casting components, we ought to focus on turning that control _inward_. Dismiss the witchlight, and cast again - but louder."

With a sigh, Sofia said, "Lux." This was going to be a long lesson.

* * *

"Heeey," Star Butterfly said when Sofia entered the History classroom the following morning. "So, you know, Candy said she saw Greylock going into Crage House yesterday, but didn't see him _leaving_ so she didn't know if she had the coat back, and I said, well _obviously_ that's why he'd be there, except for that time when he wandered in there or at least someone saw you and him coming out, but your coat was still there, so _that_ 's a thing," and finally paused a moment for air. Before Sofia could get a word in, she continued, "But this morning they all said that the extra coat was gone, but that was after you'd already left, so did Grey ask for his coat back, and you _would_ have told us if, uh, the creepy one, tall, weird hair? You'd have told us if he caved and asked for the book back, right?"

Finally, _finally_ , Star actually let Sofia answer, though Sofia needed a moment to process everything she'd been bombarded with. "Actually," she said after a moment, "I asked Greylock there myself, to give it back. I also returned the journal, without prompting." Sofia gave a shrug and turned to go to her seat.

After a moment, Mabel arrived, and Star shared the information, and both went to Sofia's side. Before they could say anything, Sofia said, "Can we not? It was cute to start, but-" But Cedric was very much Not Okay, because of her. Because of the light-hearted way she'd treated what she read, the way she'd treated his private thoughts in general. She couldn't very well say that, though. She swallowed and finished, "But honestly the whole thing was a bit crass, and I shouldn't have condoned it in the first place."

Sofia barely registered what the other girls said before they walked away.

* * *

It had been two days since Cedric last saw Sofia, two and a half since The Tea Incident, as Cedric was starting to think of the whole… ordeal.

This was for the best. By the end of the semester in a few weeks, Sofia would likely officially be caught up enough. And then she'd be free of him.

She, of course, was persistent.

Cedric was sure he was stubborn enough, though. And, he'd had an additional thought…

Sofia finally entered 'his' tower, thankfully more slowly than last session. Cedric hated his jumpy nerves, but years of unpleasant surprises were hard to unlearn.

"What's on the agenda for today?" he asked, what he hoped was tonelessly.

Sofia hesitated, then said, "More control practice, I guess."

Cedric nodded and stood up, but rather than gathering his things, he went to the door and closed it. He even pulled the heavy bar across to lock it in place, and Sofia gave him an odd look of… some kind, he couldn't tell what, exactly. "You've an unnatural advantage when it comes to casting and power," he said by way of explanation, "one that you're not guaranteed to keep forever. Given that I am the only other person to know of your possession of the Amulet, and I am here to guide your learning, it would seem wise to practice for some time without its aid."

Sofia mumbled something that sounded affirmative, and reached behind her neck to undo the clasp. She stuck out her chest just a bit as part of doing this, and Cedric had to momentarily avert his eyes, tried not to think about that at nearly eighteen years old the only person he'd intimately touched in any way was this girl before him. They hadn't even gotten very far with all that, honestly.

"Here," Sofia said, without enthusiasm but not quite as mopey as she had been when she entered, maybe, or maybe he was imagining that. Either way, he took the Amulet she held out to him.

He couldn't hold back a gasp as he felt the power of the raw magic pour into him. Even the breath itself was affected - the breath he'd drawn was deep, without any hitching on the way, and he actually felt sated when his lungs filled. A touch to his neck with his free hand confirmed that his pulse was also much slower than usual, probably at a healthy rate, and was strong enough to find easily.

Sofia, however, wasn't looking very well. "Would you mind if I sit down for this?" she asked, already leaning against the table.

"That seems reasonable," Cedric said. "Witchlight should be a good indicator of what your power is like without this."

A nod, a sigh, and then Sofia said, "Lux". There was a small spark of light in her hand, but had Cedric blinked he'd have missed it.

Interesting. "Do you recall the mental focus I asked you to try last time?" Sofia nodded. "Do the same now, but opposite. Imagine your magic as an entity, a fluid, and push it outward." Sofia nodded again. "And try again."

Sofia's eyes shone a bit as she said in a slightly strained voice, "Lux." The light was slightly larger.

She was clearly upset, probably. A positive word would probably help her not feel that way.

"Good. Now try again, harder."

* * *

It was a bright sunny Saturday morning, finally a rest from this week from hell. Granted, Sofia didn't think things were going to pick up soon - given how Cedric seemed to be avoiding her outside of their scheduled lessons, she'd probably managed to completely ruin that relationship, romantic or even just as friends.

Sofia sighed and closed the history textbook she'd been failing to read, and put it on the bench beside her. She did need to catch up, but getting distracted like this was getting nowhere. Instead, she took out the letter she'd received from home that morning, and read it again.

 _My darling Sofia,_

 _How are your classes going? Are you learning interesting things? Have you made many friends, and when can I meet them? Yes, I say all this every letter, because I always want to know!_

 _Business is doing very well. A rich client, who I can't name here, came by for a fitting and sale, and was incredibly impressed. He's recommended me to his friends, even! I'm able to make finer shoes, for fewer customers but higher price tag. I do worry about the folks here in Dunwiddee that need shoes, but I'm hardly the only cobbler in town._

 _On a completely unrelated note, I've met a delightful man. Rolly is such a dear. He's even a widower with children of his own, so he knows what that's like. I hope you can meet him over Wassalia, though he will probably be too busy with his own family matters, from what I gather. Still, I think you'd like him!_

 _Please keep up with your studies. You're so smart, I know you can do it! And don't forget to wash behind your ears, keep plenty of clean underwear - all those motherly things. They're cliched for a good reason!_

 _Love, Mom_

Sofia sighed - happily? Wistfully? -glad to get a taste of home, anyway. She tucked the letter back into its envelope, and sat quietly for a bit. Feeling the sun on her face barely masking the cold of the nearly-winter air, smelling the cold and clean scent of everything just before a snow, hearing the occasional call of a winter robin. The lack of pain that Sofia once again wore the amulet… Not that the half-hour or so had been much compared to what it had been in the old days, but it seemed so much worse since she'd gotten used to not having it.

"Hey, Sof!" A voice called out and interrupted her from her reverie. Sofia looked up to see Shauna, Serena, and a male student Sofia didn't recognize. Shauna was waving frantically, and was the one Sofia knew best, so it was probably her that had called out.

With a small smile, Sofia said, "Hi there, Shauna, Serena -" She shrugged and nodded towards the last student, who waved awkwardly.

"I'll just… go on ahead?" he said in a much higher voice than Sofia had expected, and with a grin, was off.

"All right then," Sofia said, "That… happened. Friend of you guys'?"

Shauna shrugged and laughed. "Don't mind Calem, she's just odd sometimes. We all hang around Sycamore a lot - like, well, she's doing a senior project or whatever with him, but yeah, just odd with new people mostly."

Sofia blinked. "I see," she said, wondering where she'd heard those names before. There was a definite sense of recognition, but… hm. "Anyway, what'd you guys want?"

Serena answered this time, "The three of us were going to have lunch at the café, along with some other kids we were going to meet there, we thought you might like to come along."

Oh, this just wasn't fair. Sofia bit her lip and put a hand to her collarbone as she called upon her willpower to resist- and… found that with her falling out with Cedric and the tension with Greylock, she really needed a friend. "Yeah, all right," she said, scooping her history book back into her bag. Sofia could feel a slight tingling at her neck, but she mentally told the Amulet to just shove it. There was plenty of weekend left, and by all the Princesses in the Pantheon, she _needed_ some tangible, present, immediate positivity right now.

* * *

Lunch with Shauna and her friends had really improved Sofia's outlook, and improved her social circle to boot - they were all tied by an interest in various magical animals and especially Familiars, which Sofia didn't know much about but was curious about. They were even joined by Professor Sycamore himself, and Sofia had needed to stop herself from laughing as she recalled that Cedric had called him a 'Kalosian dandy', back.. When times had been better between them.

Sofia had even finished the homework she'd intended to, both caught up on what she'd been behind on and the assignments due on Monday. She fell asleep on Sunday night rereading the history textbook, trying to make sure it stuck.

Even so, Sofia hadn't been especially surprised when almost all of her teachers gave her a pretty healthy helping of homework on Monday. The curse would almost certainly persist until she tackled the homework without giving in to distraction. Given the amount, she'd probably have to do that even if there _hadn't_ been such a curse. Damned if she did, damned if she didn't, honestly.

Given everything else that had happened last week, Sofia entered the tower with a heavy heart.

Cedric looked up from his own book, and said, "Are we to do control practice again today, Miss Sofia?"

So they were back to that, after all. Sofia sighed and leaned on the doorframe, not even putting her bookbag down. "Cedric, _really_ , how are you holding up?"

With a huff, Cedric said, "Is that a yes or a no?"

That was a pretty clear answer, even if not direct. She'd been hoping for something different, but… Oh, well. "Should we stop having these sessions?"

" _What?_ " That was the most emotion she'd heard out of Cedric for nearly a week, though she had no idea if that was a good or bad sign.

"It's obvious you don't want to be around me," Sofia said, "and these sessions have to be pretty terrible, right? I mean, I get why, I'm not mad or anything."

Cedric blinked, then stumbled to get his words out, "N-no, you can't just-" and cut himself off by putting a hand over his face.

Sofia looked away. "If it's a rules issue, I certainly won't tell anyone if you won't."

Cedric just shook his head, so Sofia continued, "And I- I can probably manage without your instruction?" But she worked so much better with a guide, and who else would have the patience to stay with her and talk her through the same spell over, and over, and over… Well, she'd have to manage somehow.

There was a moment of silence that dragged into a minute or more. Sofia shifted uncomfortably as Cedric looked like he was about to speak several times, only to close his mouth again.

It didn't look like he was going to manage anything. "I guess I'll just go then." Sofia stood straight again and turned to go down the stairs, but stopped, and looked back at Cedric. "You know, I didn't actually know, before, if what I felt for you was 'love,' but-" Sofia swallowed back tears that had been threatening to come for a while, but were only just now pounding against the insides of her eyes. "This is way more painful than I imagined it would be, you know?"

Sofia managed to get around the corner of the spiral staircase before Cedric's voice echoed through the stairwell, "D-d-don't leave!" She turned around, wanting to fill with hope but trying to tamp that down with realistic cynicism.

Cedric stood in the doorway, and made eye contact with Sofia for a moment as she came around the corner - but quickly looked away. That wasn't especially odd for Cedric, but hurt more than usual at the moment. He said, "You- you're better off without me, you're not wrong about that, but-" Cedric cleared his throat. "I know how I am, I, I _know,_ I know I kn-" His hand forcefully covered his mouth, and Cedric sighed. "But I can't- I thought I'd at least have a few weeks to get used to the idea that you'd- leave. I won't stop you, I'd, I'd just like to ask for a little more time."

"No, Cedric, no…" was Sofia's first reaction, before she could think of the right way to say anything.

Still not looking at her, Cedric responded, "...Go on then."

"No, I never _wanted_ to cut ties, Cedric," Sofia managed, and took a few steps closer to him. "I thought you _wanted_ me gone, but you'd get in trouble if I reported anything up with tutor sessions."

Cedric glanced at her, then back away. "I, I thought I did."

Sofia swallowed again, but the tears were starting to come anyway. "I never meant to hurt you. I'm so sorry." ... _is a phrase that's often heard,_ Sofia remembered, _but actions speak louder than words._ "If you're willing to give me a chance, I'll make it right."

Cedric looked at her and - well, it wasn't really eye contact for very long, but he at least looked at her chin, or something, and it was clear he was _trying_. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out; instead, he took hold of Sofia's hand and gently tugged, leading her back into the study room.


	21. Follow My Lead

Cedric seemed to jump about a foot when Greylock threw the door open with dramatic flair. "Must you always do that?" Cedric asked as he dusted himself off, reminding Greylock of a bird trying to de-fluff its ruffled feathers. "You're starting to rub off on Sofia, you know. She did that sometime last week."

So Cedric was talking about Sofia again, that was… a sign of some kind. Much as Greylock liked the girl, he hadn't been sure which way would be the better outcome for that tension. After the first session last week it had been clear they had enough issues to work out without him being there, so he'd been avoiding intruding on them during such time. Today, however, was an off day, so here he was.

"Ah, you know, the more the merrier!" Greylock said, and sat down across from Cedric.

They sat and studied insilence for a bit, though Greylock seemed to be making more headway in his reading than Cedric was in his own work, given the tapping of Cedric's pen - still Greylock's immature joke pen, Grey was pleased to see - and the way Cedric held his face in one hand, with a rather pained expression.

As Greylock was looking at Cedric over the top of his textbook, Cedric's stomach growled, and he -flinched?

...Oh, dear. Greylock had been trying to keep an eye on Cedric this past week, but had been looking for things that Cedric was doing, not for what he might not be doing. No herbs so no dangerous plans, at least, and no obvious marks of self-harm, though wrists and anything that left marks had never been Cedric's go-to method.

What Greylock now realized he hadn't seen Cedric do was eat anything.

Greylock closed his textbook with a clap, causing Cedric to jump again. "Well," Grey said, "I'm not making much progress, I've read this passage at least five times and still. Nothing." Not entirely a lie. "I'm a bit peckish. And by a bit, I do mean distractingly so."

Cedric scowled at Greylock. "All right, move along and cease distracting me."

"Iii'm also rather lonely," Greylock said, "so you're coming with." He stood up and walked around the desk, offering a hand to Cedric to help him up.

Unsurprisingly, Cedric didn't take it. "I need to work on this paper, as a matter of fact. It was due-" Cedric looked away and coughed. "Never mind when it's due. I need to finish it."

The paper in front of Cedric had a very fancy illustrated 'T', followed by two normal letters; 'The' was the only word on the page. The edge of the paper had several dots where Cedric had been tapping the pen.

Greylock only had to raise an eyebrow at Cedric for him to sigh and push away the page. "Still, I've got an awful headache, I don't want to go out and about."

"So trying to do homework on an empty stomach during that headache is supposed to be better?" Greylock beckoned with his outstretched hand. "Just come along already."

"I-I-I'm no such thing!" Cedric protested. "I just ate, around an hour ago."

Greylock folded his arms as he looked down at Cedric, and scrunched his mouth in thought. "Good to hear, what was it? And was it any good?"

Cedric looked to one side and said, "I, ah. Forget."

It took a considerable amount of effort to smile at that, but Greylock managed. "Well, at any rate, you're not making much headway here. You need to get out some more, Head-sick, and you're coming with me whether you like it or not." Greylock held out his hand again. As Cedric looked between it and Greylock's face, Grey added, "I will pick you up and carry you bridal-style if I have to." ...That was only a joke but now that Greylock had said it, he almost hoped Cedric would refuse.

Cedric, however, rolled his eyes and took the offered help to stand up. He still ended up pulling on Greylock's hand a little harder than expected, and Cedric's face was closer to Grey's own than they'd been for - possibly ever. It was hard to be too enthralled by that though, given Cedric's pained expression, and just why Greylock was proposing this outing in the first place.

"Off on the quest for good grub!" Greylock said, turning to leave the tower but not letting go of Cedric's hand. "Destination: Café Hex!"

"That's not its name and you know that," Cedric mumbled, and let himself be pulled along.

"Well, it hasn't got one already, so I'm calling it that and you can't stop me."

* * *

Certain tasteless jokes could be made about the fact that Greylock had ordered mushroom soup, but he chose the variety for Cedric's interest more than his own. They weren't Merlin's, but Cedric was partial to all mushrooms, unless his tastes had changed while Greylock wasn't looking.

Greylock took a slice of the bread that came with the meal and dunked it in the creamy soup, fished out a mushroom with it, and held it up to his nose for an exaggerated sniff. "Oh, this seems just delectable," he said, and watched Cedric's eyes follow the morsel in his hand.

He took his bite and put the rest of the slice back on the plate and scooted it and the bowl of soup towards Cedric. "You're welcome to have some if you'd like," Grey said with his mouth still partially full, "I didn't expect quite this much when I asked for an extra order of bread." That was actually true, but he'd have said that regardless.

Cedric rolled his eyes and said, "Swallow your food before talking. I'd ask if you were raised in a barn but I know that's not true."

Greylock shrugged. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what exactly is the situation with you and Sofia, currently?" Either Cedric would answer the question and Grey would know where they all stood, or-

Cedric startled, and took a piece of bread from Greylock's plate as he turned away to nibble on it. Good, finally. And now that the initial barrier was broken, he'd likely continue eating at least off an on, regardless of whatever thought patterns put Cedric in this state in the first place.

Greylock took a bite - a spoonful? How were you supposed to refer to eating soup anyway? …At any rate, there was food in his mouth now, and not just as an excuse to stall. Cedric might actually answer, he figured, given a moment to think, and Greylock did still want to know the lay of the land. One or the other outcome was technically a win, but why not both?

Cedric took too long to chew his piece of bread, longer than was really plausible, but had to swallow eventually. ...There was another immature joke there, Greylock thought, but not now - Cedric was starting to talk.

"We're… I'm not sure. Back on proper speaking terms, anyway." Cedric shrugged, somewhere between noncommittal and given up, maybe?

Well, that was vague. "That's good," Greylock said, then paused for a moment. "Wait, I- I don't think I realized you had been on non-speaking terms. Wasn't it difficult to tutor as such?"

Cedric nibbled on his bread again, but didn't use it to stall (much) this time. "I was strictly business. Anything not related to lesson was entirely off the table. I…" he sighed, and took a few more bites of his bread, finishing it off. He grabbed another, and continued, "I couldn't handle her being- I- I don't know. Sh-she knows, about-"

As Cedric choked on his words (thankfully not literally), Greylock said, "Yes, that. If you don't want to talk about this here, that's all right." Greylock hadn't expected all this, not that he minded for his own sake.

Cedric shook his head and took another bite, this time dunked in the offered soup, which allowed him a moment to cool down. "I'm- I'm all right. She, she nearly drank- that, and even without-" He waved his hand in the air, gesturing broadly. "-I'm still, well… You know how I am. I thought it wise to quit this ill-advised dalliance, return to knowing each other in an official capacity, but as nothing more." Cedric looked away, and took a deep breath

And another. And… That clearly wasn't the end, but given the circumstances, Greylock needed to practice that rarely used tactic: caution. "Steady on there, Cedric. If you'd like to talk of something else, or nothing at all, that's all right."

Softly, Cedric said, "I forced her away. Th-that as the point, wasn't it? But when she- I couldn't-" A gasp of breath, nearly a sob though his face was dry. "Pathetic lump that I am, c-couldn't bear to lose one of my only friends, her safety be damned, I guess."

Greylock reached across the table and touched Cedric's hand. "There's no shame in wanting friends, Cedric. You're my most steadfast and loyal friend, and there's nothing that could make me feel any differently - but even I know that's not enough, not really. I can't be there for you all the time, don't fulfill the same niches." Much as Greylock wanted to fulfill several of them, that wasn't in the cards. "And that's okay. Perhaps proceed with caution, but I'm glad you've worked things out." Mostly.

Greylock had honestly been leaning a little towards hoping she'd be out of Cedric's life, he realized. Not that he had anything against her for herself, but she didn't seem to be doing Cedric any good, and with him not tied down in a relationship - well, Greylock never had any chance to begin with. But in convincing Cedric of the virtues of knowing Sofia, he'd made a surprisingly good case to himself, as well.

Cedric interrupted Greylock's moment of introspection by taking Grey's hand in his own, and giving it a squeeze. "Acknowledged," he said, and Greylock chuckled a bit as he squeezed Cedric's hand back.


	22. Those Who Help Us Most to Grow

"Hey," Sofia said, as she entered the tower study room, gently this time.

Cedric looked up from his work with mild surprise, then looked at the clock on the wall. "You're actually on time, congratulations."

Sofia blinked. "I'm _actually_ a little early," she said, glancing over her shoulder at the clock Cedric was looking at. She'd made a special effort not to dawdle around her last class or be held up, since she and Cedric had only 'made up' last session. And after the emotionally taxing not-quite-argument was resolved towards her staying, well, Cedric hadn't really been up to saying much but study-related.

Regardless of her thoughts, Cedric scoffed. "An entire minute early, if that counts." It was nice to see Cedric was taking things a bit more lightly, unless that was him being sincerely annoyed or dismissive?

On the other hand, "I'm not usually more than a minute or so _late_ , either," Sofia defended. She was smiling, but once she put down her bag she crossed her arms. "So if it counts _that_ direction, it should count the other way too."

Cedric's eyebrows furrowed, but otherwise he didn't have much facial expression. After a moment, he folded his arms and said, "Touché."

Sofia found herself giggling at this, though only lightly. Luckily, Cedric didn't seem upset by that, but she still tamped the laughter down a bit sooner than she might have. "So, how's your day been, then? Anything interesting happen?"

"Not particularly," Cedric said. "Shall we get to business then?"

Sofia bit her lip and tried not to sigh, but before she could say anything, Cedric blinked and continued, "Or, ah- was that you wanting to talk about _your_ day? You can just come out with it, you know. No need for dancing around pleasantries, I barely understand them anyhow."

That was surprisingly perceptive, if not quite accurate. Still, it seemed like Cedric was doing a lot better than two days ago even without much being said since their last lesson. However- "I'm not asking to know every little detail all the time," Sofia said, "but I'd like to actually _talk_ with you about things other than controlling my magic skill and the odd other lesson, you know? If you've got anything on your mind, I'd love to hear it, your wants and fears, what you do for fun beyond school work, whatever."

Cedric tilted his head and frowned a bit at that, though he didn't look angry so much as perplexed. "All… right, I suppose. What comes to mind at the moment is the fact that you seem to need to get these- these bits of… these questions that feel like part of a soap opera melodrama asked before we start the actual tutoring of a lesson. The plot relevant bits now, and boring studying later." He took a breath, then added, "I don't mind, it's just peculiar."

That's… not quite what Sofia meant, but she wasn't going to complain, especially given the mental image he described. She was chuckling again as she said, "Maybe? I mean- especially this year since Hexley has creative writing classes, but even in Dunwiddee I was part of the theatre productions when I could be… I like thinking of things like that, structured like the plot of a story. Sometimes it's even fun to think we're just characters, yeah?"

Cedric leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling at that. "It's… occurred to me that reality isn't quite what it seems, but not in that way. It seems unlikely- who would want to read a story of _my_ life. Not much going on here, honestly."

Sofia shrugged. "I mean, of course you _feel_ like you'd be the main character, I do too. Anyone I could talk to would. That doesn't mean we _are_ , though, right?" Cedric looked at her with some sort of expression- he was so hard to read, what did that face _mean_. It didn't look positive, though, so Sofia continued, "I mean, _**I**_ think you're interesting enough to be a main character, and would definitely read a book about you- but I'm also a bit biased." It took her a moment to realize that… she'd… actually _already_ read a book about him. An untitled private unauthorized autobiography and collected notes, or in other words: his diary. Sofia felt a warmth coming to her cheeks, and really hoped Cedric wouldn't notice anything off.

It took Cedric a moment to react, but he sniffed a laugh and smiled at her, thankfully. "I don't think I could say the same, for myself or you, but my literary tastes do trend more towards the dramatic. A Song of Ice and Fire, The Once And Future King, The Wicked Years… etcetera."

"Yeah," Sofia said with a snorted laugh. "I should hope our lives don't get _that_ interesting." She paused for a moment, then started getting out her textbooks and concluded, "Speaking of uninteresting, I _gueeess_ we should probably start this whole tutor session thing at some point."

Cedric smiled back and said, "That might be wise, given that that's the central purpose of this time slot."

The two of them worked on power and control of Sofia's magic, with and without the amulet given that Greylock didn't seem to be showing up today either. They also worked on some minor potions homework for Health class, correctly mixing the herbs Sofia had brought from the garden and doing the proper spell to imbue it with the correct magical properties.

"And then we wait," Cedric said, and corked the small bottle. "It shouldn't need any particular environmental care to steep, so it should be fine if you'd like to leave it here- though, on second thought, I have no idea if this tower freezes over each night. Perhaps you'd better take it after all."

Sofia nodded, and held out her hand for the would-eventually-be-a-potion, which he gave to her. "Thanks again," she said. "I could have done this on my own, but it's hard enough playing catchup, you know? Being enrolled in so many classes at once to make up for lost time…" She looked away and rubbed the back of her neck. "I know it's like, Official Credits for you or something, but I don't think I've thanked you lately for doing this? And I really do appreciate it a lot, you know."

Cedric grinned and put a hand on her shoulder, saying, "Thank you, Sofia. I appreciate that I can help you." There was a moment of silence, but it wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, or at least Sofia didn't think so. The weight of Cedric's hand on her shoulder was pleasant, especially given that he was usually so stingy with touch. His gaze wandered off somewhere, likely following some train of thought, until he snapped back to reality. "I'm not much good at speaking about things, but if you'd like to come with me this Saturday to Inventing Club, I wouldn't mind. I'm afraid you won't likely have much to _do_ , but you wanted to know how I spend my spare time, so…?"

With a grin, Sofia said, "Oh, that sounds delightful!"

"Delightful might be a strong word for it," Cedric said, finally taking back his hand. "I hope you're not bored to tears. Also, ah while we're at it- you're free to come to the tower to study on off days, too." Cedric looked away sharply, took a breath, and said, "It's - Greylock has been here those days, but it's not… it's not quite the same without the both of you making your usual _racket_." Despite the harsh emphasis on the last word, Cedric was clearly smiling.

* * *

Sofia looked over her maths homework, comparing the problems assigned by Professor Pi (or at least that were written in her planner) were the same as the ones she'd done; they were. She'd done the reading for history, the potion Cedric had helped her with yesterday was the only homework for the rest of this week in Health so she was set there, she'd written this week's Creative Writing prompt-drabble already, and the Canterbury Tales had been so funny she'd read them very quickly, not just the two assigned for Enchancian Lit. Botany only had the few worksheets assigned, which were thankfully simple, and General Sorcery rarely had homework other than practicing new spells - so that wasn't for a grade exactly, but was something Sofia tried to do on schedule regardless. Especially given that cramming never worked and tended to set off a minor curse from the amulet to boot. That had actually already been done too, though, and… Sofia sat in stunned silence for a moment before announcing to Greylock and Cedric, who both with her in the tower, "I believe I'm actually _finished_ with my homework. Ahead in several classes, even."

All Cedric did was mumble, "Congratulations," and went back to his work, which seemed to be… well, probably the thesis thing he sometimes mentioned, given the multiple books open across his table, the bookmarks, and the scattered notes.

Greylock, on the other hand, sat near the fireplace with nothing at hand but the unbound pages of the script. "Is that so? Grats!" he said, loudly as usual. "Say, if you're not too burned out on things that might _feel_ like homework, would you mind practicing lines with me?"

"...Really?" Sofia blinked in surprise at the invitation for… a few reasons, frankly. "You're not still mad at me?"

Blinking, Greylock said, "Mad? Why wo-" He stopped suddenly, snapped his fingers, and pointed at Sofia. "Right. Last week. No, no, dear Sofia. I, ah…" Greylock rubbed the back of his neck and smiled, broadly but with worried, knitted eyebrows.

Before Grey could find the words he was looking for, Sofia asked, "So, you _haven't_ been avoiding me then?" The tone was a bit more… accusatory than she'd intended, but the question stood, and 'taking back' words wasn't a real thing you could do.

"Well, yes, I _had_ been," Greylock said, "but things seemed settled between you two now. So no more awkwardness! Or so I'd _thought_ , anyway."

Sofia bit her lip for a moment in thought, staring intently at Greylock's face trying to decipher his expression. "And that's really it? No lasting anger at _certain_ mistakes?" She glanced at Cedric, who was still absorbed in his studies. Hopefully, if he was paying attention, he'd just assume she meant the whole Tea Incident in general, rather than what she and (hopefully) Greylock knew she was _actually_ talking about, i.e. the journal.

The way that Greylock grimaced, making a noise as he sucked air through his teeth, and glanced at Cedric made it seem like he _did_ at least get what she was saying. "No, I'm good. You've gone through enough, and I was probably overreacting, really. No hard feelings, pinkie swear." He held out his pinkie finger for emphasis.

Cedric hit his hand against the desk, startling Sofia out of whatever she was trying to respond. He said, "Merlin's moldy mushrooms! Will you two get through your _drama_ somewhere else? I don't particularly give a flying fruity _fig_ whether it's fictional or actual drama between you two, it's distracting and I really can't- I can't deal with words right now, with-with-with sound. Go, go hash it out somewhere _else_ and leave me in peace, won't you?"

Sofia ut her hand to her mouth as she realized she'd bothered Cedric that much, and said, "Sorry." She tried to gather her things as quietly as she could, glancing between Cedric and Greylock, who had been waiting by the oor for several moments by the time Sofia was ready. Cheeky bloke hadn't had much out, so all he had to do was stuff his script back into his bag. Before they actually left, she turned around and said "Bye" to Cedric. He didn't say anything or even turn around from his work, but he did wave a hand at her- in what she was _pretty_ sure was friendly rather than dismissive, but it was hard to tell with Cedric.

It wasn't much later that Sofia had followed Greylock to his dorm room, and she'd remembered the other half of why she'd been so incredulous at Grey's request. "Why would you want to practice with _me_ anyhow?" she asked Grey, as he sat on his bed leafing through his script. "I don't think we even share any scenes, given that you're magic Romeo and I'm furry… Tybalt kind of? Magic forest Capulet, anyway."

Greylock looked at her with wide eyes, then blinked a few times. "I could've been…" He shook his head, then spoke up again, "You know, I hadn't even realized it as Romeo and Juliet, but you're right about that, heh. But you're missing that you're _also_ cast as Juliet herself."

Sofia rolled her eyes and said, "As an _understudy_. Wow that's so necessary, how did Dunwiddee ever deal without?" Sofia sighed.

At that, Greylock tilted his head. "You went entirely without? I thought it was bad enough that we only had enough actors to understudy the lead characters, but what can you do given school play. What if something _happened_?"

With a shrug, Sofia said, "The show must go on? I thought that was pretty standard theatre culture."

"It is," Greylock said, "that's why we have understudies, in case someone gets a bad cold."

Sofia had to hold back an incredulous laugh as she said, "A _cold_? One year, we had the lead go on stage with a cast."

"I should hope so," Greylock interjected, earning a giggle from Sofia.

"A literal plaster cast," she said, "not the actors. He took 'break a leg' a little too literally, I guess."

Greylock's mouth fell open as he blinked in surprise. "He _what_? Gimli's garters, that is… hard core, Sofia. We're significantly…" Grey paused to chuckle. "Softer than that. I mean, it's still probable that Pinkie will play the lead, but it's not as if it's _that_ unlikely you'll be needed. Honestly, she might just be tired after the friday and saturday performances that she asks for you to do the sunday matinee or evening, or even both. It's not out of the question."

Oh. That was good to know.

"Does that mean you've not practiced?" Grey asked, grinning. "I'm glad we've cleared this up _now_ , rather than in January, that might have been disastrous!"

Sofia found a chuckle bubbling up out of her too, and said, "Yeah, I guess. Still, I'm probably going to be… rusty at this. Maybe you should practice with Pinkie a bit, while I work on it on my own a bit?"

At that, Greylock grimaced. "If you'd rather work alone for a while, I don't mind at all. But, ah… Nice as Pinkie is, I don't _like_ her much. She's too much like me, and I don't like not being The Fun Wizard or whatever. And obviously she's _better_ at that, given I'm such a _fairy_." Grey crossed his arms and huffed a sigh of irritation, but then shrugged and smiled. "It's not _her_ fault, obviously, but I'm still going to avoid spending more time than necessary with her."

"Uh…" Sofia scrunched her lips as she puzzled over what Grey had just said. "That makes sense, though I don't see what your role in the play has to do with all that." Possibly resentment at folks who'd also wanted the lead, but given Pinkie was _also_ a lead, that wouldn't be doing her any more favors that it was doing Greylock…

Grey just laughed and slapped his leg. "Jokes like that are _also_ part of why I'd prefer to do this with you. It's not just negativity towards Pinkie, but also positive attachment to you. I know I've not shown it well lately, but I really _do_ genuinely like you for yourself."

That was nice to hear, even if Sofia didn't quite buy it. "Which is why you were avoiding me until Cedric and I were on the mend, right?"

A short intake of breath, not quite sharp enough to be a gasp, then Greylock said, "No! I'm not very good at dealing with folks while they're upset, unless that person is Cedric. I _want_ to help, but I barely even manage to help Cedric, who I _know_ like the back of my own hand, practically. Anyone else, the most I can really do is offer a hug, and that's not… very helpful. I want to help but I can't, and then I'm sad and the other person is sad and it doesn't accomplish much of anything, really. So I avoid it if I can." Greylock pulled one side of his mouth up in a sad smile and looked up at Sofia, and shrugged. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

Well, that made sense, actually. Sofia was usually pretty okay at talking folks down (if with _notable exceptions_ ) but she could relate to feeling useless - especially because said notable exception of Cedric. Honestly, that gave her a window into his friction with Pinkie, too, given that Greylock was better at comforting Cedric than she seemed to be, and that was usually her role. Granted, she didn't feel upset by that so much as glad that Cedric at least had someone that _could_ do that for him, since she herself couldn't, but she could _understand_ why he'd be jealous of his position as The Fun One, or envious of Pinkie's success.

For the moment, though, Sofia sat on the bed next to Greylock and hugged him around the shoulders. "It's okay, and I'm sorry for blaming you." She pulled back, then held a hand towards him in an offer to handshake, and said, "So, friends?"

Greylock blinked and seemed surprised by the whole thing for a moment, but took Sofia's hand and shook it vigorously. "Absolutely! I never meant to _not_ be friends."

* * *

"I hadn't realized the club met in Layton's classroom," Sofia said as Cedric pushed through the door.

Cedric scoffed. "Where did you _expect_ us to meet? In the cellars for that real Frankenstein feel?"

Sofia hesitated before answering softly, "You _do_ tend to like that sort of aesthetic."

That solicited a laugh, thankfully. "Professor Layton, however, is much less _gloomy_ than I am. And likes routine - I can hardly blame him, really. So here we are." He gestured at the whole of the classroom, which Sofia now saw had several of the tables pushed against the wall, leaving just enough that each student here had a table of their own, on which their in-progress invention sat.

"What the hell is _she_ doing here?" said grating voice that Sofia recognized, but couldn't quite place, until she looked around again and spotted Rus- T.S. "It's _way_ too fucking late to start something for the competition, you know that, right?"

From the front of the room, Professor Layton said, " _Language_ , T.S."

T.S. rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah. My question still stands, Cedric."

"Yes, I am _aware_ of that, Sofia isn't here to work. Though honestly there's more to inventing than winning some blasted competition, so I don't see why that would be a problem _anyhow_."

Given that T.S. still looked unhappy and like he'd stir up a proper argument, Sofia added, "I'm just here to hang out for a bit! I'm not very good at mechanics myself, but I think they're interesting, and I'd like to see what Cedric's working on- and probably you guys' too, honestly! I promise I won't be a bother, though. I know you don't look with your fingers, and I'll shut up if you want me to."

After a moment, T.S. said, "Fine," in in a huffy tone of voice, and turned back to his table. If he was anything like Cedric, she wondered if part of his irritation there was that he couldn't find anything to accuse Sofia of potentially doing, and had to stifle a giggle.

As the two walked past his table, Sofia glanced to see what T.S. was working on, anyhow- but couldn't understand what the jumble of parts was supposed to be. Oh well, she'd just have to ask him later, hopefully when he was less irritable. Or maybe ask Cedric, some time after the club meeting ended.

Cedric went to one of the cabinets on the side of the room and took out several pieces of mechanics, and something that looked more than passingly like one of those foldable fans from Wei-Ling. "So, what is it?" Sofia asked, leaning against the table as she watched Cedric start to work.

"A toy flying machine. Last year I made a flying machine you could ride in, with no magic to it at all. It was unwieldy and difficult to transport, ironically enough. When it got to Lumiose in Kalos - where the international part of the competition was being held - some of the internal mechanisms were damaged, and it couldn't turn properly. If I hadn't crashed because of that, I'd probably have _won_." Cedric sniffed derisively, and Sofia wondered how accurate that was - not that it particularly mattered. "For the most part, scaling down the machine has been _difficult,_ but doable - but given I'm not in the driver's seat, steering the blighted thing will be an issue that I still haven't decided how I'm going to tackle."

"I see," Sofia said, legitimately interested but not sure what else to say. She didn't exactly have a good perspective to be offering any advice. "So the fan… That's going to be the wings?"

Cedric looked her in the eye for a moment, which was odd enough, before answering, "No, I just wanted to add some flair to this thing, figured I'd save myself the trouble of generating lift by casting a levitation spell on the lot and be done with it."

Sofia scoffed at the sarcasm, but couldn't help from turning that into a laugh. She sat and watched him work for a while, mostly silent.

After some amount of time that was longer than just 'several minutes' but probably not as long as half an hour, there was a minor explosion at one of the other tables. Everyone jumped at the noise, and around the room there was various cursing (mostly in the naughty words way as far as Sofia could tell, thankfully). Cedric dropped the tiny wrench and the piece he'd been working on at the time on the table, but it seemed like he was one of the luckier ones as far as affecting progress went.

Cedric looked up towards the source of the noise after he'd managed to calm down, and groaned. "Heinz, you _really_ need to stop putting self destruct buttons on your inventions."

The brunet looked at the scorched table in front of him in astonishment. "I hadn't even installed it yet, though!" he proclaimed loudly, in a voice much more grating than T.S.'s, somehow. Well, T.S. was more nasally, whereas is sounded like this boy had been gargling gravel. "I mean, I guess yeah, you're probably right. But it's not even _there_ yet, I don't know how this-" He gesticulated wildly, but never actually finished his sentence.

"That was going to be a towel folding machine, correct?" asked Professor Layton, as he approached the scene.

Heinz nodded vigorously and said, "The foldinator! ...Iiis up in smoke." He sighed dramatically and flopped back in his chair.

The Professor tilted his head and thought for a moment, before asking, " _How_ did such a thing explode, anyhow? Stress from moving parts not working accurately might force it to spring apart, but I thought I saw a flash in there, too. What were you working on, specifically, when this happened?"

So the two started talking, and Sofia was interested but they spoke too quickly about things she didn't understand to manage to follow much, and also the author doesn't understand mechanics themself so trying to write what they'd speak of would be nigh-impossible.

It wasn't too long before Heinz and the Professor seemed to root out the problem and work on patching up his invention, not to mention the fourth wall. Sofia found herself wandering off from Cedric, wondering what the others' projects were. Heinz's had been clearly stated, and he probably wasn't in a good place to talk about his invention at the moment, either physically or mentally. T.S. was probably irritated from being startled earlier - he might have cooled off by now, but she figured she'd give him more time on the chance he hadn't. So that left- oh, hey, it was Ferb from the play! He was working with another boy his age, with orange hair to complement Ferb's green.

"What'cha working on?" Sofia asked, hoping she wasn't intruding or that these two would be as acerbic as T.S.

Thankfully, the redhead grinned brightly at her. "Well, you see, Ferb and I have always thought it would be pretty cool to be super strong and fast and stuff, all at once without spell interference or side effects, right? And look really awesome while doing it. We're making a mechanized suit that's way stronger or faster than anyone could reasonably be. Ferb's gonna sit in the torso and control the legs, while I'm in the head and get the arms. Given how the helmet's got to fit over my big nose-" the boy pointed to it, and Sofia did have to admit it was pretty long, amusingly like both Cedric's and Heinz's noses - "we've decided to emphasize the feature, even store some extra tech there, and paint the thing to resemble a bird. We've started calling the project The Beak."

"Oh wow, that sounds really cool!" Sofia said, grinning. "I'm Sofia by the way. I've already met Ferb from drama club, but it's nice to meet you, ah-?"

He took Sofia's hand, which hadn't been offered but hadn't been tucked away or anything, and shook it. "I'm Phineas, glad to have ya. Most of the other kids here can be grumps, but they've got good hearts, so don't be afraid to talk with anyone. We don't bite, I promise!"

Sofia chuckled and said, "I'm dating Cedric, I know how it goes." Then she blinked, and corrected, "-Was dating? I don't… actually know where we stand at the moment." She breathed a small sigh, but continued before she could let things get too awkward, "So, yeah, thanks for the advice though! I do appreciate it."

T.S. worked at a table next to theirs- well, given there were only four tables the furthest one could be was diagonal, but that was beside the point- said, "I am not a grump, _thank_ you very much! I might be a little _sarcastic_ every now and again, perhaps the slightest bit less polite than I might be _rarely_. And of course I don't _bother_ with folks who aren't worth my time. But I am not, as you say, a _grump_."

"Oh, _please_ ," Cedric said. "It's only us here, plus Sofia who's used to me. You haven't got any reason to pretend. 'Grump' is a perfectly accurate term to describe _all_ of us, juvenile as it may _be_. Though honestly I'd likely have used a worse word for you, T.S., so give the boy some credit in that regard. Being just 'a grump' is an _improvement_ for you."

"Like you're any better," T.S. spat in response. "Sabotaged or stolen anything recently?"

Several sets of eyes glanced towards Professor Layton, but he still seemed to be focused on Heinz' invention. They were working on rebuilding what progress had been lost, it looked like; either way, the professor wasn't paying attention to idle chatter, which gave Sofia time to wonder. She'd found out that Ceric had been stealing poisonous herbs from the greenhouses for his 'collection,' so there was a decent chance of truth behind T.S.'s accusation, not to mention that sabotage was an oddly specific crime to choose without reason… but what in the world?

The way Cedric's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed as he grimaced, didn't particularly clear his name. "I didn't _mean_ -" he started. "I wasn't-" and he cut himself off again, staring at T.S. for a few more seconds before huffing an irritated sigh and getting back to work on his own project.

"...That was about the worst I've ever seen in here," Phineas said, after a few moments of silence. "Which, you know. That's not great. But usually when that sort of thing happens, it's mean but it's all in good fun, y'know? Grump-buddies."

Sofia nodded, and recalled the banter between Greylock and Cedric. That was less dual-sided, but there did seem to be an element of truth there.

Thankfully, there weren't any more incidents for the rest of the meeting. Sofia hadn't quite managed to work up the nerve to ask T.S. what his invention was, given that he was apparently nastier than usual to Cedric.

"I don't know whether I should apologize for that being boring or for being more excitement than either of us really bargained for," Cedric said as the two were walking back to the dorms. "And I'm honestly surprised you stayed the whole time."

Sofia shook her head. "No, it was fun! I like hanging out with you, pretty much no matter what we do, but hearing about the other kids' stuff was neat. If you don't want me to come again that's fine, but I'd totally be up for it."

Cedric looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "We meet every other Saturday. Same time, same place."

* * *

 **A/N: If you read the preceding chapters before 9/13/16ish, go back and reread Ch 15, "He Could Be That Boy" for me, if you would. I noticed as I was fact-checking for this chapter that I'd managed to leave out the first half, a good thousand or so words. I don't know if what had been up before did or did not make sense without that context... idk. Anyway, enjoy!**


	23. Need Help Believing

The only scheduled daily commitment Cedric had was his Dark Arts and Wicked Wizardry class, which didn't meet until after lunch hour. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays also had committed tutoring sessions, but those weren't until even later than DAWW was. Technically, Cedric really _should_ have gone to his Independent Study "class" in the morning at some point, but given that Layton was now technically directing his thesis on artifacts and that Layton taught in the mornings, and Cedric preferred researching by candlelight, well… He nearly always _intended_ to get up at a reasonable hour, but it wasn't exactly _unusual_ that Cedric arrived to Professor Miller's class still considerably groggy from sleep.

"Glad you could join us, Mister Sorciere," Professor Miller's voice came from the front of the room, light and feminine but sharply edged with… sarcasm? Accusation?

Cedric glanced at the clock on the wall, which read the time he thought it had - a minute before the hour - but asked anyhow, "Am I late, Professor?" Had the schedule been changed, and he hadn't been aware? Had there been a notice that he'd missed? Was he _not_ supposed to be here today, had class been canceled? Had-

"What?" The professor asked, then shook her head. "No, I'm just. Hello. Now go sit down." She waved a hand towards the back of the room, where Cedric's seat was.

Normally, Prof. Miller's brusque demeanor was a nice change of pace - unlike a lot of other folks at Hexley Halls and in his life in general, she didn't sugarcoat, she didn't put on a pleasant face when she didn't mean it. Given her sense of style was as dark and sharp as she was and that her first name was Regina, not to mention that she taught Dark Arts and Wicked Wizardry, (often shortened to DAWW) of all classes, meant that The Evil Queen was one of her _kinder_ student-given nicknames. Others liked to play around with rhyming 'witch'.

So, honestly, Cedric felt a sort of kinship, a sort of attachment… something like a schoolboy crush, at times, admiring how she was able to be as confident and strict as she was, and yet _respected_ , at least, if not many students' favorite.

But then there were times, as now, when Cedric felt like he was _missing_ something. As he went to take his seat, he glanced around, and it didn't seem like there were any more looks his way than usual, really. It definitely _felt_ like he'd walked in on a discussion about himself, but that was… probably unlikely? He knew, he _knew_ that he was paranoid beyond reason that folks were talking about him, criticizing his style, his hair, perhaps a stain he hadn't noticed, something embarrassing stuck to his back, anything, really.

But there was a grain of truth to be had, there. Nothing could be dismissed, because any of it could be the time it was true.

The first half of the hour was, as usual, lecture. Cedric tried to take notes, but as usual he tried to write down too much information, got lost on what the teacher was saying, tried to consolidate, ended up writing nearly nothing after a certain point… He listened and understood what was being _said_ after that point much better, but he'd have no way to remember it. Before that point, he had no idea what any of the notes he had taken down were about, because even that much had been mostly in support of the audible lecture, which he'd missed understanding given he was trying to take down notes.

Trying to puzzle out just what Miller meant with that greeting overlaid some of Cedric's listening, though, so even that much was something of a waste, today. Which was just. Delightful.

What was _not_ usual was that the second half of the hour would not be spent practicing small spells against inanimate targets or defending against enchanted statuettes that would fire off small spells, or even the small matches versus one another. "Today, and for the next two weeks," Professor Miller said to her students, as folks Cedric didn't recognize filed into the classroom, "you'll be learning with the Templar class, from Pendragon Academy. You _will_ respect them, and appreciate the opportunity this gives. Partner yourselves up, one from each class. Today's sparring will just see where relative power levels are. Don't disappoint me."

All of the students from Pendragon seemed so… muscular. Even the girls, though there didn't seem to be many of them, were more physically fit than most folks Cedric had seen his own age. It wasn't surprisingly, logically, that a knight's school would focus on physical training, at least largely. But Cedric knew for a fact that the templar variety didn't do as much weight lifting or the like as your garden-variety knights… Whatever the case, it was still rather daunting to have to approach any of these people. They were _apparently_ all around his own age, given the years in Pendragon didn't work much differently than Hexley, if he recalled correctly, but the confidence they seemed to carry themselves with made them seem older (and if he was honest, more attractive, though that wasn't especially a _good_ thing compared to his sickly scrawny hide).

One person from the crowd stood out to Cedric, though, and despite his apprehension he found himself approaching a student about a head taller than him and had a scar across the bridge of his nose and a dark head of hair… mostly, aside from bangs that were swept to one side and, notably, _white_.

"E-excuse me?" Merlin's mushrooms, what Cedric wouldn't do to smooth out his words when he was nervous. It really didn't help matters. Before he could stutter too much more, though, the - boy? Young man? ...Masculine person of some age or variety- turned around and looked at Cedric with with a minor double-take.

"Shiro," said the young knight- _there we go_ , that's the descriptor- as he stuck out his hand. It took Cedric a moment to remember to shake it and answer his name in return.

And then they… just stared at each other for a moment. The longer the silence drew on, the more Awkward Cedric felt, the more he felt like he should just _say something already,_ but at least it was good to know that apparently the other lad didn't know what to say, either.

"So, ah, was yours accidental or intentional?" Shiro seemed to finally manage.

Cedric scoffed. "I enjoy having my failure marked into my physical being, it's a point of pride." ...That was absolutely the best tactic to take here. Wonderful.

Shiro only rolled his eyes. "Mine wasn't intentional either, though not something I did myself. I can't actually remember the day of the accident, but Cordelia said it wasn't a pretty sight."

Cedric's eyes widened a bit as he drew a long breath, a halted gasp. The chances he'd know her weren't exactly astronomical given, but it was still something to learn they were both connected to-

"Oh, Ceddy!" called a too-familiar voice, causing Cedric to flinch a bit. He didn't want to acknowledge her presence, but his younger sister Cordelia bounded up out of the thick of the crowd regardless. "Ceddy, there you are! I wasn't sure you'd be in the class we were going to train with, but I was definitely _hoping_ you would be!" She even gave him what was probably supposed to be a friendly punch on the shoulder.

Ugh, Cedric didn't have the spoons for this. "Could you _not_ do that," he said, pushing her away from himself, though thankfully she didn't need much urging. "We've apparently got to deal with each other for an entire _fortnight_. I'd appreciate if you spread the torment a little thinner."

Cordelia backed up a bit, muttering apologies, but startled as she noticed who Cedric had been talking to. "Oh! You've met my boyfriend, Shiro! Haha, good times…" She grabbed Shiro's arm and wrapped her own around it, causing him to stiffen a bit- but grin, if somewhat… strangely?

More importantly, though, Cedric wanted to know- "Since when have _you_ had a boyfriend?"

"Why _wouldn't_ I have a boyfriend!" Cordelia said, a little too quickly, too emphatically. "I like boys!"

Tilting his head to one side in minor confusion, Cedric said, "...I didn't question that."

"Oh. Uh." Cordelia laughed… nervously, was it? And shrugged. "Haha, yeah, I guess you didn't… A while then, I guess."

Cedric crossed his arms and huffed a sigh. "Well, _one_ of us understands privacy, so don't worry, Mum and Father won't get word of this, regardless of anything else."

That didn't seem to be quite the right response, though, given Cordelia was waving Shiro's arm frantically at this point, saying, "No, no it's okay! Please, definitely, tell them I've got a boyfriend! Like any normal teenage girl would!"

...What? _What!_? Cedric was trying to form any kind of response, trying not to sputter incoherently, but hadn't expected such a direct attack from Cordelia, who certainly wasn't his _favorite_ person but at least seemed to 'humor' his identity, at worst. Or so he'd _thought_.

Without the words to retaliate, though Cedric couldn't… couldn't _be_ there any more. He couldn't deal with this. So he turned around and found someone else to deal with instead.

So Cedric skirted around the edge of the crowd of students, pretending like he'd have the nerve to approach anyone else at this point… though there were certain students who seeme unrealistically tough, and provided good incentive for trying to choose his own sparring partner before he was the last one left and was stuck with the knight-in-training left. It was nice to note, at least, that the most musclebound student of the group, tall and broad with thick curly blond hair, was already engaged in conversation with T.S. From what little Cedric could hear over the din, it sounded like the two knew each other - they were making jokes (probably) about being liege and champion. Cedric stopped listening in before he became too nauseous, though at least that provided teasing fodder for next club meeting.

Most of these students looked so intimidating, though, and honestly Cedric had spent his allotted daily socializing energy, and then some, on that previous approach and the following encounter, so it wasn't very surprising that he ended up as the last student to be paired from Hexley. And of _course_ his luck was that the last student from Pendragon was… well, it wasn't Cordelia, at least, nor anyone he knew, but this blond- not really a boy, or a man, or a guy. Teen? This blond teenager of some description reminded Cedric of his least favorite parts of Greylock, with none of the endearing qualities.

"Howdy there!" said Cedric's sparring partner, "The name's Hank, but you can call me… _The Bat._ " To, ah, emphasize? the name, the blond put his hands beside his head, with his index fingers held out and the rest curled in-giving more the impression of horns than anything Cedric would associate with flying rodents.

As such, it took Cedric a moment of blinking before he could respond. "Cedric, at your service, though I think I'll call you 'Hank' if it's all the same to you."

*Hank gave Cedric a look that the latter couldn't decipher, something like surprised and… intense? Intense wasn't an emotion, but that was the best Cedric could do to describe it… anyhow, gave Cedric a look, and said, "But my dude, they're _not_ the same. One is 'Hank,' and one is 'The Bat.'"

Cedric expected more after that, but… nothing. "All… right." Was this boy just being intentionally irritating, or did he feel that strongly about being called something else? As much as it seemed silly to Cedric, he also knew what others thought of _him_ and his own choice of name… But _given_ that he was being asked to be called not just after an animal but with a 'the' at the beginning, it felt very… trivializing. Merlin's mushrooms, Cedric got enough of that from everywhere else.

That last thought cemented it for Cedric, though, and he said, "Well, _Hank_ … en garde." Some of the other student pairs had already started their bouts, so Cedric felt no remorse in throwing what was honestly a rather cheap shot at Hank for accidentally insulting Cedric in a roundabout way that Hank almost certainly didn't even realize. Being petty had its merits.

With an early advantage like that, Cedric was actually doing pretty well against this fellow, both sending offensive spells his way and usually dodging or blocking the boy's return blows, be they with his bamboo sword or the odd magical effect. It… _was_ notably difficult, especially since Cedric wasn't especially in the habit of dodging, but he was _managing_.

Given Hank was largely on the defensive, he apparently saw fit to try to rile Cedric into irrationality. "C'mon, that barely even hurt!" he said, and "I eat spells like these for _breakfast_ , dorkasaurus! ...Well, actually I usually skip breakfast, but you know what I mean." Largely it was too silly to be effective, though that in itself did drive Cedric to dislike this boy further- there was really only so much emotional energy he could handle from people in a day, and both of his two friends already filled that quota quite well.

"What was _that_ ," Hank said again, and Cedric started to roll his eyes preemptively. "Geez, you hit like a _girl_."

The moment that Cedric hesitated was enough to get broadsided by- Hank was attacking with his _shield_? That was... A thing one could do? At any rate, Cedric stumbled backwards, and took a breath to cast his return spell-

-but before he did, a student near them, engaged in their own diagnostic duel but _apparently_ doing well enough to pay attention to other bouts, said "Dude, you really shouldn't say stuff like that."

Both Hank's and Cedric's eyes turned towards the speaker, who Cedric… vaguely recognized from class, but had never interacted with really, and couldn't remember her name. She'd been slightly behind and to one side of Hank, so he'd had to turn his body to face her; Cedric had already been largely facing her, so didn't have to acknowledge he was paying attention. Hank asked, "Stuff like wh-oh, uh, not that girls can't be pretty kick-ass too. Sorry, I guess?"

"Dude, no. Well, that _too_ but like-" Hank was still facing this girl for the most part, and Cedric took the opportunity to get in another cheap shot, and ideally provide a distraction for where he was nearly sure this girl's comment was going… or _tried_. Hank did some sort of anti-spell thing, and Cedric's missile fizzled into nothingness when it contacted the boy's shoulder. The girl continued, "She- _he_ got some kid expelled for calling him the ' _wrong_ ' things. Nearly landed a _prefect_ on the same carriage back home."

Why, Cedric wondered. He didn't know this girl from Eve. And here she was, just, going on… "Like I know you're not from this school-" she dodged a jab from her sparring partner- "but honestly his parents are powerful and just don't _even_ touch that." It was just… _wonderful_ to be reminded of that, by a near stranger. Why did this stranger even _care_.

Hank nodded to the girl, said, "Whatever you say, my dude," and gave her a wink and… pantomimed a flintlock with each of his hands, for some reason. Then, _finally_ , he turned back to Cedric, and said, "Sorry for the off guard moment. Time to get back on guard, dude!"

There… was a snarky comment, somewhere, about misunderstanding words and languages. Cedric could tell that much. He didn't especially care to make that comment, or even to find what it _was_ \- which itself was somewhat notable to Cedric, a signal that he was going to be very not okay in not a very long time, but the metaphorical alarum bell seemed far away within his head.

Given that Cedric couldn't muster the snarky comment, he _certainly_ didn't have the reaction time, or willpower, or any necessary ingredients to block Hank's next move, or the one after. At best, he raised his wand and offered a feeble counterspell, but that was dodged and Hank had used the momentum of that motion to knock Cedric off his feet.

From his position on the floor, Cedric finally managed, "I yield, I… I yield." He started to sit back up and realized he'd thumped his head on the way down. Delightful. Bruises and scorch marks were one thing, and helpful in their way, but headaches were just _annoying_. Just… why.

Cedric was vaguely aware of Hank taking his hand and pulling him back up, and asking if he was okay. _Merlin_ , what a question. Cedric couldn't, quite form the words in his mouth at the moment, so he made do with waving a hand about in a vaguely dismissive manner. Apparently, this was not the right answer, and he was prodded in the back-or, no, that was probably meant to be a friendly gesture, at this point, but Cedric jumped at the contact all the same, and was led back to the seating area of the large classroom.

Things continued happening around him for a few minutes, but largely he couldn't be bothered to do anything but sit and stare at nothing, really. Or, well, _staring_ implied intent, whereas Cedric wasn't looking _at_ anything so much as through it. Someone could have waved a hand in front of his face and it's doubtful he'd have noticed, though thankfully no one did.

The next thing that Cedric noticed was that Cordelia was here, and talking to Hank. Cordelia was at least a foot shorter than the boy, but the way her index finger pushed against the center of his chest, and the palms-out position Hank had his hands… There was some sort of conclusion to be drawn from this, but Cedric wasn't getting it, quite right now.

"...guess she was _right_ ," Cordelia was saying, though Cedric didn't know what words had preceded that. "Do. Not. Screw. Around. With. Sorcieres." She paused, and added, "Uh, that is, the family. I know it sounds like 'sorcerer' but hey, that's because they named the job after us! So, even if I _weren't_ at PA Daddy could probably get stuff done." Cordelia withdrew her finger and put her hand to her chin instead, and fluttered her eyelashes for effect. "But it turns out that I _am_ here. So really, just don't." She grinned, reached out to push Hank in the chest again, and then skipped off.

All Cedric could think was _why_ , though he wasn't even sure at what part, exactly. Everything, maybe.

Time felt like it was dripping by, like the last bits of honey from a ladle, like every tick of the second hand was paid for in - what was this, honestly? His head hurt a bit from the fall, but that wasn't the _source_ … It wasn't… this wasn't a unique thing to happen. He wasn't dying, probably, at least not any more than any other time. This wasn't pain, exactly, it just sucked. Was this even real?

The clanging of the bell jolted Cedric out of his own head a bit, and he managed to find his way back to his dorm room, apparently, though Cedric wasn't sure he remembered getting there. He hadn't been carried, surely; he'd be on his bed, right? Instead, Cedric found himself standing, leaning against his desk. Apparently he'd summoned Wormwood without realizing it, too.

Cedric pulled out the chair and sat at his desk, looking at his hands. After several moments, he was again looking _through_ things rather than at them, though this time with half a sense of the direction his gaze was pointing, at least… He put his hands down on the desk, and lightly drummed the fingers of one hand in an interesting pattern, and he could feel the moment when the fingers would make contact with the polished wood of the desk… but there was some kind of disconnect. After a few moments, he stopped noticing that sensation, too, as he focused on the pattern of the drumming. One-two-three-four-five, one-two-three-four, one-two-three, one-two, one. One, one-two, one-two-three… and on.

The tick-tick-tick of the small wall clock filled the quiet room, and eventually managed to wrench away Cedric's attention in that he could not manage to make his drumming line up with the clockwork sounds. He clenched his fists for a moment, then picked up the closest thing to hand - an inkwell, unfortunately - and hurled it at the clock.

The ceramic inkwell shattered as it hit the wall, a good foot away from the offending clock, and stained the wall with ink. Not that it could look much worse than the scorch marks remind him of the Tea Incident. Would this count as another thing to be reminded of? The… words… What were words, anyway, and what would it matter if it didn't have A Name? Or did a thing not properly exist if it didn't have a name? Would picking the wrong name for something… affect its being?

...Was 'Cedric' the right name? Or could _any_ name be correct for him, honestly. Most people, _normal_ people, don't just get to pick their own names. You are who you are, and you're stuck with it. Which made Cedric just a- … which made… _Lizzie_ just a girl who wanted to get ahead in life and be a boy, not deal with sexism because opting out was obviously an option, and then make a big fuss about it because she wanted the attention.

Cedric wanted to contradict himself on this, this was literally just _Father's_ rhetoric to get him to be a normal girl again. 'Again,' like he'd ever… But the crux of the matter was that it was hard to just dismiss out of hand. He _was_ happier like this, and well, no he didn't appreciate the sort of 'attention' he got- especially not from- Cedric couldn't even remember his name, he'd tried not to remember the boy who'd helped Sascha try to 'prove' that Cedric, that _Lizzie_ really was just a girl, in their own room no less-

Not _this_ room. And Greylock wouldn't do that. Either Greylock saw Cedric as a dude, or Greylock saw him as a girl after all and wouldn't be even vaguely interested. ...Honestly, it was probably somewhere between, which… hurt. He knew Greylock didn't think of Cedric like he did other boys, not just from demeanor but he'd basically admitted as much last Couple's Day.

Honestly, why did he even bother? Cedric put his hands on his face and leaned forward, digging his fingertips into his closed eyes to the point of pain. His best friend, his _only_ friend for a considerable amount of time - his… irritating, awful, favorite person in the world, honestly- only dealt with Cedric because they were the only two boys in the school were were Unnatural in this particular way, and even Greylock only half saw him as a boy. Only tolerated his identity, though at least he seemed to do so by _choice_. Cedric's fingers pushed a bit harder and curled inward, as he imagined a rather gorier scene, something that would hurt and scar and distract him from the utter futility of everything he tried.

At least Sofia… probably didn't question. But if some stranger from DAWW knew the rumor mill enough to drag it all up and dump it on that knight fellow, Cedric couldn't remember his name, or what he looked like, _was_ it a he? Had he fought against a girl or a boy? Cedric couldn't remember- if that stranger had known that much, then did Sofia know? Was she just being polite? Being commoner-born, would something like that be more or less foreign to her? Of course, there was Professor Layton, who'd been pivotal in Cedric's own, own identity quest, he guessed? And the Professor was commoner-born himself, but had made his way into Scholarly Society through force of will, Cedric supposed… Which left Cedric little idea what was considered normal, regarding trans folk and the classes. Merlin, Merlin, why was that the only curse he could think of today, Merlin why was everything so hard.

But… but either Sofia knew, and hadn't changed her behavior towards him according to that information- which, honestly, seemed unlikely, most even well-meaning, ah, non-trans people that Cedric was aware of slipped up at least a little once it came out that he was, in fact… well, the way he was. So that left that Sofia _didn't_ know yet, thankfully- so she saw him as wholly and completely male, which would, probably become an issue at some point but it was… nice, for now. Even if the only reason that she _did_ was because she didn't know all the facts yet. And that's how it would always be, wouldn't it? He'd never have a chance to just _rest_. Always, for the rest of his life… Why must things be so difficult, why can't he just say 'actually, I'm of the masculine persuasion' and be _done_ with it.

Why did he bother with anything. He tried, and tried… but his 'best' was always somewhat worse than everyone else's 'average,' and it was incredibly difficult to just sit down and _accept_ that 'failure' is a defining characteristic of oneself.

Cedric looked up at his scorched cabinet, and huffed something like a laugh to himself. "Honestly," he said to- Wormwood was there, right. "Where are the herbs when you need them, right?" He reached out a hand and stroked the glossy black feathers of Wormwood's back, then startled the faux bird by scooping it onto his lap and holding it there. Even a fake bird couldn't tolerate that for long, though, and wriggled out of Cedric's hands in short order- and even seemed offended, possibly because Cedric had been thinking of it in terms of 'it' pronouns and being not-a-real-bird. Funny how that worked, having a mental connection and all.

After that, Cedric's mind became cloudy again, forgetful and unaware. He had literally no idea how long he'd been sitting there when Greylock came in from his own classes.

* * *

The key scritched in the door's lock, caught, and turned, allowing Greylock to turn the knob and kick it open. Given the hand on said knob, (dirty jokes aside,) that was _clearly_ unnecessary… but it was fun, and no one was ever here to mind.

The door banged against the inside wall, startling Cedric enough to jerk and allow Greylock to notice him. Apparently, Grey had been wrong. Odd. "Didn't mean to scare you, Sedgwick!" he said as he tromped over to his own side of the room. "Figured you'd be studying in the tower, I was about to head there myself- just wanted to swap some books. How's things, what's got you here instead?"

There was a beat, and another, before Cedric responded, "Why…"

"Well, if there's a dragon nesting in your tower, I'd prefer not to study there," Greylock responded, continuing to load the contents of his bookbag onto his bed.

Again, Cedric's voice floated across the room, "Wh-hy-hyy…" It sounded significantly less like a laugh than a feeble sob, which caught Greylock's attention and he looked at Cedric, really _looked_ at him.

Cedric's hands lay palm-up on the desk, slightly curled inward. They and Wormwood were the only things on the desk, no school supplies or study materials. In fact, it was notable that Wormwood was summoned in the room and not on his perch, but that was probably less important than the glazed-over look of Cedric's face, staring at his hands, mouth hanging just slightly open.

"Cedric," Greylock started, despite the sudden pit in his stomach, "are you okay?"

The soft response, just "No," wasn't _surprising_ given Cedric's body language, but it still saddened Greylock to hear it confirmed.

"Is there any way I could help?" Not that Greylock could do a whole lot… "If you need quiet, I can leave."

"No," Cedric said, then a moment later, "Or, ah, yes. You can." Another moment of silence, then, "Stay. That is. I'd… appreciate it."

Greylock huffed something between a small laugh and a relieved sigh, and said, "Absolutely." So he resumed rearranging his books, though more carefully, more quietly. He eventually started trying to read one of his text books, though it was kind of difficult to focus on the text while he was worrying about Cedric, what had happened, or had it? Was it just a bad episode for no special reason? That had happened before, Greylock thought, but he wasn't sure.

As such, Greylock wouldn't even call it an interruption when Cedric managed to speak up again, "Actually…"

Not that Greylock wouldn't have been willing to put down his studies had he managed to start, but now he didn't even bother to finish the sentence he was on before closing the book and looking up at Cedric.

"Sorry to…" Cedric started, still looking at his hands, then sighed and closed his eyes. "I could use a hug."

After blinking for a moment in surprise, Greylock responded, "Are you sure?" Not that that hadn't been Grey's first instinct, but- "I know you don't tend to like being touched, especially when you're in a state. Yes or no answer is fine." Given aforementioned state and the word difficulty associated with it.

Cedric huffed a small laugh and finally moved, turned his head a bit to look at Greylock before returning to face-forward position. "Greylock, you… you're safe. You've always been helpful, even if I… sometimes whine like a child about it. You've always been here to…" He took a breath, in, and out, then continued, "To help, to drag me out of- whatever.. Whatever this is… you ah-" He closed his eyes again, and turned a little away from Greylock this time, but continued, "You don't have to if you'd rather not, I suppose it's rather odd to _request_ a hug, isn't it? That's not how that works, it's supposed to just hap-"

Cedric's words were cut off in surprise as Greylock scooped him up from his desk chair, one hand at Cedric's back and the other under his knees, and carried him the few feet to Cedric's bed. Greylock sat Cedric down gingerly, keeping one hand behind his dear friend's back as Grey retrieved his other hand from beneath Cedric's knees, so that he could wrap it around Cedric's chest in a tight hug.

Ater some several moments, Greylock loosened his grip and leaned back away from Cedric, and said, "I'm sorry if that was too tight, Cedric, I suppose I got caught up in the moment." And had been using all of his willpower to stop himself from adding a kiss on the side of Cedric's head, or neck, or anywhere- Cedric definitely didn't need to add dealing with Greylock's awful crush on top of whatever else was wrong.

"No, don't apologize," Cedric said perhaps a bit breathlessly, "that- helped. I am- I am _here_ and you-" Cedric was looking mostly at Greylock, probably not actually making eye contact but looking at least in the direction of Greylock's face, and their faces were very close… And more importantly, Cedric didn't have that faraway look he'd had before, and he was smiling, if faintly. Greylock felt his own face breaking into a rather larger smile, then felt Cedric pulling him into another hug. It would be nice if Greylock could hug away _all_ of Cedric's problems, but he was happy that he could hug away even one.

* * *

 **A/N: attempting NaNo again! I'm in a bad spot this year and off to a less than ideal start, so idk how far I'll get. (a decent amount of this was written before November, so it doesn't actually count, haha.) Anyway, thanks to anyone who's still reading!**


	24. A Question of Influence

Tuesdays were never as bad as Mondays, because at least Cedric was already back into the rhythm of the week. The week still sprawled out before his mind, and it was awful, but at least he wasn't battling the inertia of being allowed to finally rest for a moment over the weekend. It should have been the peak of productivity, probably, having finally managed momentum without having exhausted energy - but that assumed that Cedric had any energy to spare. Especially lately, he felt like he was always on the verge of running out of steam.

That was especially depressing given the fact that he only had one official lecture-style class. And yet, here Cedric was, trying to only metaphorically drag his feet as he walked into the DAWW II classroom.

"Mister Sorciere," Professor Miller said to him as he came in, and handed him a slip of paper, with only a name on it. ...Venture? Wasn't that T.S.'s last name? Amusing.

After the rest of the class filed in, Prof. Miller explained to the lot, "Your performance yesterday was evaluated, and you have been paired against the student from Pendragon Academy with whom your abilities are most evenly matched."

 _That was definitely an entirely fair assessment, and nothing had happened yesterday that could possibly compromise anyone's relative scoring._ Cedric huffed to himself in irritation as he watched the opposing templar class file into the room, and eventually be directed to each wizard student.

The young man who sat down at the table next to Cedric was, unsurprisingly, rather frail looking, though probably still significantly healthier than Cedric himself was.

"Hi there! I'm Dean," said the brunet as he approached and offered a hand to shake, all smiles and freckles and too much positivity.

"Charmed," Cedric replied, keeping his hands firmly to himself. "Cedric. I take it you're not exactly an artist with your sword there to be directed to me." Cedric deserved better than the bottom of the barrel, but with yesterday's episode, no amount of egotism could smooth over the fact that this weakling was clearly the worst the class had to offer.

Dean shrugged and said, "Oh, I don't know, I think I'm… okay, yeah I kind of suck at this. I'm not actually even part of the Templar class, but there were a few open spots for the workshop and I was able to get in! It's really cool to be here, to see all of you guys do your magic thing." Oh Merlin, somehow it was even _worse_ than Cedric had expected. "Hey, do you think I could transfer over here?" Dean continued, oblivious to the scowl forming itself on Cedric's face.

"You're about as close to me as you can get without physically moving my rump out of the seat," Cedric responded.

Dean laughed, but shook his head. "No, I mean, like. I want to just go to school here rather than Pendragon, you know? You're right, I'm pretty bad as a knight, and yesterday in this class I met the most gorgeous girl and she is the love of my life and I think I'd be a lot better at magic than sword stuff."

Over the course of this run-on sentence, Cedric's eyebrows rose, and rose, until they physically couldn't anymore - but they still strained, trying. "I don't… believe it works like that." Though Sofia came to the school significantly late as far as development went, and while she _did_ have a significant advantage with the power radiated by the amulet, she actually had made a surprising amount of progress in those couple of sessions where they'd tried to have her practice magic without it, so maybe not… "How old are you, anyhow?"

"Fifteen, nearly sixteen!" Dean answered. "How about you, then?"

Cedric scoffed. "Not important." If this boy had any latent ability, it wasn't wholly impossible - he was actually younger than Sofia, though not by much. Of course, there was the issue of the school year and - _and of why in Odin's name did Cedric care about this._

There was also the fact that it wasn't only upperclassmen from PA who were here to rival the most difficult class in Hexley Hall. Of course, his sister who was slightly more than a year younger than him wouldn't have been here had it only been Year Thirteen students, but it still stung.

Much more chatter was, thankfully, cut off by Professor Miller introducing the wizarding students to Pendragon Academy's teacher, Ser Alistair Theirin, and vice-versa. ...Alistair was a nice name, Cedric mused. It didn't seem to fit this blond bubbly knight in front of the class. The following half-hour was interesting, at least, though hard to focus on as the pair of teachers attempted to teach a joint lesson and ended up bickering about every third point or so. At first it was amusing, but it quickly cut into actually _understanding_ what the central tenet of the lesson was, let alone individual nuances. It didn't help that Dean kept trying to add amusing comments, or mention that apparently he was fairly sure that Cedric had been set against Dean's brother Hank the previous day. Trying to pretend he was paying attention to lecture while the teachers were involved in disputing the finer points of what constitutes a spell or not was… trying. How exactly was he supposed to explain that all he remembered of the previous day was that it felt like it didn't exist, and Greylock managing to eventually ground him? Hades' Herbs, even most of that was fairly fuzzy.

The second portion of the period was spent practicing specific spells and counterspells - mostly for the benefit of the knights' class, it seemed. It wasn't that the DAWW class wasn't learning anything, but this spell wasn't exactly _new_ , either, and they were offered no rejoinder to the templars' counter. Of course, a decent portion of the Kingsguard were templars, and the only other effective counter to a powerful mage was another powerful mage… but it still felt off, somehow.

Given the more lax nature of today's bouts, Cedric was able to give a look around at his classmates. It didn't look like T.S. ended up against that brute he'd been flirting with yesterday, though whether that was a blessing or a curse was questionable - especially given the black eye blossoming across the boy's face. Ouch. Cordelia had been paired with… oh, what was her name? Cedric couldn't remember, but he knew the girl by sight - she was large, both tall and thickly built, and her uniform always seemed ruffled and wrinkled, even when it had clearly been starched fairly recently. She seemed to resemble, in person and her calm demeanor, her Familiar which she liked to keep around and summoned - a large vulture of some variety. So Cedric tended to think of the girl as 'Vulture,' though he knew that was perhaps not the kindest epithet. Either way, he felt sorry for her as she faced against Cordelia - tiny as Cordy was, she was fast, and energetic, and indeed artful with her weapon, preferably a rapier, though she'd be willing to pick up a branch from the ground to whack someone with it.

As strange and stressful the class had been, given social interaction and all, Cedric wasn't quite out of the woods yet - after class, before he managed to slide out of the door, Cordelia caught his elbow. "Hey, bro!" she said, and pulled him into a hug before he could say anything. "We didn't really get to say much yesterday, how's things? How are you doing? Just gotta check up on my little brother, you know? Make sure you're doing okay." Little. He was taller than her, older than her, and yet she still counted him as her little brother. And yet, the dynamic seemed about accurate.

"I'm absolutely _fine_ , thank you," Cedric said in as rude a tone as he could manage - which still ended up coming off more as sickly sweet than anything. "Thank you so much for asking, sister dear. How are you, then? Doing well? Of course you are, no need to answer that."

Cordelia laughed. "You've got that right, kid!" she said, and despite being shorter than him, managed to wrap her arm around his neck and pull his head down to her level to give him a noogie. "Glad to hear you're good. You'd tell me if someone as picking on you, right?"

"Absolutely," Cedric said. "You could definitely fix anything ill that happened to me."

Releasing her hold on Cedric, Cordelia shrugged and said, "Any problem that can't be punched in the gut, isn't really a problem."

That was most assuredly a one hundred percent factual and true statement. Cedric rolled his eyes as he barely managed to swallow a sound of disgust.

"Oh hey!" she said, suddenly and loudly, startling Cedric into jumping. "I don't know if you knew that I managed to summon my own wizard's Familiar a while ago, since I haven't really seen you since the school year started."

Cedric raised an incredulous eyebrow, but in a moment the other joined it in appreciation as Cordelia said the all-too-familiar incantation (...Greylock would appreciate that pun, Cedric said, and tried to remember it for later) - and a hummingbird poofed into existence by Cordelia's shoulder.

"Look, see?" Cordelia said, gesturing excitedly. "I, um, I don't know if I did the thing right, since I had to kind of… figure out how everything was supposed to work on my own and all, like that's obviously not a thing they teach at PA, you know? I think it's kind of broken… it doesn't seem to do anything? I don't know how to make it do anything… but I'm working on figuring it out, and I dunno, I'm still just glad that I managed at _all_ , really."

Cedric sighed. "Well, Familiars aren't necessarily supposed to _do_ anything. It's more of a…" Cedric hummed a note to himself as he pondered what he was trying to say. "It's a mark of personal growth, a rite of passage, partially. And finding out what one's associated animal is, understanding how it relates to oneself, though it's not always entirely clear."

Cedric momentarily remembered summers of his youth, watching the hummingbirds battle fiercely over the brightly colored nectar his mother had put in an old jar with holes to allow for feeding. There were plenty of places for the birds to sit and drink, and still, they fought. It wasn't exactly difficult to imagine why Cordelia found herself with a spectral one by her side.

"And they can be companions, somewhat more intelligent than your average pet but significantly less conversational than human cohorts. Sometimes they may do things, as per a connection to their caster's emotional state, but _making_ them do anything is… difficult at best."

A soft clapping drew Cedric's gaze back to Cordelia - he wasn't exactly sure when during his ramble his gaze had wandered, but that wasn't exactly odd, he supposed - but either way, he was looking at her now, and she as grinning and clapping her hands softly and bouncing a bit. "Oh, that's so interesting! See, _this_ is why you're the next royal sorcerer. I'm sitting here muddling through these books, casting things wrong and giving people permanent bad hairdos, and then you can just - you know so much, you can just talk about it without a moment's notice."

There were… _so_ many things wrong with that whole thing, Cedric didn't even know where to begin.

"Anyway, kid, I've got to go - training in the dazzleball field starts in about five minutes ago I think," Cordelia said, pre-empting and dismissing any answer Cedric might have had. "Do you guys ever even _use_ it? Everything's so dilapidated it's… pretty sad, really. But yeah, later!" Cordelia pulled Cedric's shoulders into a hug, then dashed off before he could react.

* * *

The door to the tower study room creaked open, and Sofia stood up quickly to greet Cedric as he entered. "Oh, hey," Sofia said, "I'm glad to see you're better. Assuming you _are_ better, are you?"

Cedric shrugged his bag off his shoulders, though Sofia wasn't sure if that was just him being tired or meant as a response. "I'm not having another episode, at least," he said.

"That's a good way to look at it, I think," Sofia said, sitting down again. "Silver linings, or at least brighter sides of things relative to other things… positivity can be infectious, even if it's not much, you know?"

Another shrug from Cedric, then he said, "Given I missed tutoring yesterday, and you're here today, I thought I'd make up for that now. Is there anything you've been having trouble with?"

Sofia sighed softly to herself, disappointed but afraid to push. "A bit, I guess. Professor Pi is actually focusing on pi, and trigonometry and stuff… and it's just… I don't know, I'm not really understanding why I'm not understanding it?"

Cedric put a hand to his chin as he considered. "Maths really aren't my strong suit, either, but I can certainly attempt. Give it here, your homework, and let me look over what you've got to do. The text, too."

So they discussed what set trigonometry apart from your average algebra, largely. "I don't know if it confused you the way it did me," Cedric said at one point, "but something that helped me understand radians, which you _do_ seem to be having trouble with - well, they're the outside of the circle, yes? Or angles, but the circle is the- either way, they're measured mostly in multiples of pi. If you recall, the formula for the circumference of a circle, given radius ' _r_ '..."

"...Is two-pi- _r_ ," finished Sofia, and breathed a stunned sigh. "Wow, yeah, that actually makes a lot of things make sense."

Looking rather proud of himself, perhaps a bit smug?, Cedric said, "It does, doesn't it? I don't know _why_ teachers don't point that out to students themselves." He was even grinning at her. "I don't know how much I'll be able to help you beyond that realization, but I'm glad I could help as much as that, at least." He nodded firmly, looked to the side and seemed to consider something, and then continued in a softer tone of voice. "It's nice to do _something_ right today, at least. My DAWW class is doing a… joint workshop with Pendragon Academy, which would be bad _enough_ , but to add insult to injury-" Cedric coughed and mumbled, more to itself than to Sofia it seemed, "a little too literally for my taste…" and then he looked at least in Sofia's general direction again as he finished, "my _sister_ is part of that program."

Sofia wasn't sure how she should react. Clearly this wasn't a _good_ thing, but she also had already had a vague idea of- well, assuming this sister was the same one who Cedric had written of in the journal she shouldn't have kept and read. "I'm sorry to hear that," she settled on after a moment that she hoped hadn't drawn on too long.

Cedric sighed. "It's not _your_ fault, certainly, no need to apologize." Sofia had to hold back a chuckle at the misinterpretation of language there, but thankfully Cedric didn't seem to notice and continued unabated. "She's… I can understand why she and Greylock have gotten along on the few occasions that they've had to be around one another. Cordelia is crass and rude and abrasive, but somehow through all of that she's usually also _nice_." Cedric huffed and momentarily pouted in irritation. "Now that I've had the time away from her, I can _understand_ why folks like her, but that doesn't make her any less awful for my own wellbeing. She- she, she, she," He closed his eyes and scowled, rapping on the table repeatedly with his fingertips. "She puts me on this pedestal, I suppose. I'm the ' _good'_ sibling, the one who's going to carry on the family name, the important one, the smart one - and yet, here I am, struggling with what few commitments I even _have_ , the worst participant in the DAWW class such that I was paired against a knight student who isn't even part of the Templar class series, who had only been brought to fill out the numbers and give every wizard student a partner. She actually showed me today that she managed to perform the initial Familiar summoning on her own - no class, no teachers, just from reading during her spare time from physical training. And yet, somehow, _I'm_ supposed to not just measure up to her, but _surpass_ that. I wonder if that's even possible, honestly."

It took a moment for Sofia to be sure that Cedric was done speaking, but then said, "Oh, wow. I'm sor-" and then caught herself, afraid to get into a habit of that. "I mean," she continued, "I.. see. Yeah, that's definitely not great." She put her hand out across the table to reach for Cedric, lightly touching his fingers with her own.

He seemed to jump just a bit from the contact, but then moved to grasp her hand firmly, the fabric of his fingerless gloves feeling rough against her knuckles. "Quite," he said, "though I wonder if you'd change your tune once you met her, yourself…"

Sofia hesitated. "I… try to make friends with most everyone, and understand their viewpoint," she said, "but that doesn't mean I'm going to not believe she's hurting you? I'm not exactly a stranger to emotional nuance. You might remember me telling you about my loving, kind dad who might have also been a pirate?" Sofia laughed softly, hoping Cedric would find that at least as vaguely amusing as she had. "He was still great, to me, and loved me a lot - but if he _was_ a pirate, he probably did a lot of awful things to other people… and yet, even knowing that, even feeling kind of- betrayed, I guess, I can't help but still remember him fondly, to love his memory and appreciate him."

Cedric smiled a bit, and rather lopsided, but it was at least somewhat positive as a reaction. "That…" he said, taking a moment, then continued, "sounds like exactly the opposite kind of problem."

...It rather was, wasn't it. Sofia chuckled again, and said, "You're not wrong, really, but the point wasn't the specifics of the situation, so much as I get that family can be a lot different to each other than they are to the world at large, I guess. It's weird, and even mine is painful - and my dad was only a maybe, it's not like I've heard of a Dread Pirate Birk Balthazar or anything. I can only imagine what it's like to be told… you're wrong, what you're experiencing isn't real, or whatever? I can imagine that pretty easily, because if anyone else knew my dad was a pirate, well… No one mourns the wicked, you know. But even that's still just imagination." Sofia shrugged, and finished, "Whatever happens, I won't just… turn my back on you like that, I guess is what I'm trying to say."

At this, Cedric took his hand back - had he really been holding Sofia's this whole time? She was touched he'd even felt like it for that long - and said, "I appreciate the sentiment, at least." The way he said it made Sofia doubt he believed her, but… it was progress. More than she'd made during the few weeks they were probably dating - and Sofia had thought their relationship was hard to label _then_ , hah. But whatever they were now, post Tea Incident and the aftermath, she was finally managing to start understanding Cedric, to helping him, to help him through these issues - or at least be able to vent pressure from them to her.


	25. A Question of Influence Pt 2

It was a small blessing, for Cedric, that the only person bothering him after DAWW each day this week had been Cordelia. It seemed like Dean wanted to be friends with Cedric, or at least was trying his hardest to be friendly during the class itself - but as soon as the students were allowed to leave their seats, Dean went to badger this poor… Triana, was it? Cedric didn't know the girl, but Dean mooned about her throughout the period, and it was hard not to pick up _something_ from all of that babbling.

On the other hand, perhaps Dean may have been useful as a shield against Cordelia, but as matters stood he mainly just had to grin and bear it. Maybe he'd manage to get out before she got to him one of these days, but with the first week over without having done so, it didn't seem particularly likely.

"Hey, little bit!" Cordelia said, too loudly, as she approached and pulled Cedric into a hug. At least she let him go after a moment. "I realized in class today that Wassalia is coming up - well, I mean, obviously it's nearly winter break, but I guess I realized that I don't have any idea what to get you for it, and after this class is over and I'm back at Pendragon I've only got midterms and then we're home free! And after that only a few days until Wassalia itself, and where did the year go? Anyway, I've never known what you wanted very well without some kind of help, so unless you want me reading your diary again you should totally get me a list or something, yeah? Or a bad gift, but you know, whatever."

Cedric was too busy having a miniature crisis as he realized just how soon Wassalia Holidays really were to reply in any kind of timely manner. Cordelia went ahead and finished, "Anyway, just be sure to get that to me before we all ship back out to Pendragon again, you hear? But yeah, seeya next monday!" Cordelia gave Cedric what he was sure was intended to be an _affectionate_ punch on the shoulder, which still rather hurt, and hurried away.

* * *

"You want to _what_?" Sofia asked Cedric, not sure she'd heard him correctly. He couldn't-

"I would like to go with you to your home in- Dun… Dunwhittle? Over the Wassalia holidays," Cedric reiterated, leaning back in his chair across the table from Sofia in the tower study room. "You… you now know about how I feel about Cordelia, but awful as she is for me, she really doesn't hold a candle to my father. At least she's _trying_ to do right by me, most of the time, I think. I don't, I'm… I'm not-" He took a breath, swallowed, took another… and finally continued, "I don't know how well I'd do while around both of them for an extended period of time like that. Even.. Even Mum wouldn't be, _isn't_ enough to make up for, for all of _that_." He waved a hand at the word 'that' for emphasis. "I don't know if I'd... do anything I might regret."

Put like that, Cedric's request made a lot of sense, really. Sofia sat back and let out a breath of her own. "I see," she said, and considered. "Yeah, I'd love to have you stay, I just didn't think that _you'd_ want something like that, but… wow."

"Indeed," Cedric said, "But I'm glad to hear it. What should-"

Sofia cut off Cedric, saying, "Don't get me wrong, now, I said _I'd_ love that, but I'm not really the one to be asking. My mom is really the one who gets to decide, and I'm pretty sure your parents would have to agree too? Would they really be up for you not spending such an important holiday with them?"

With a grimace, Cedric shrugged. "Father never seems to make a lot of sense, so… I don't know. He might refuse on the grounds that I am the oldest- ah, child. The heir to his position, and that it is improper not to. On the other hand, _he_ usually isn't home for Wassalia itself, instead at Enchancia's palace doing cheap tricks for those royal brats. Mum might want to keep me around because she _does_ tend to complain about not seeing me often enough, but then she also is the only one who seems to notice how Father… is Father, I suppose. So… I'm not sure."

Sofia nodded, thinking. "I'll try to convince my mom - I'll start a letter right now, actually." Sofia rifled through her things and pulled out a pencil and a sheet of paper, though didn't actually start writing yet. "I don't know how quickly this will get to Dunwiddee, so I don't know if we'll get an answer before the holiday itself - but I'm pretty sure she'd at least be able to get the letter in time to decide before she gets here to pick me up."

Cedric nodded. "Do you think I should start convincing my parents sooner or later? I don't need to rely on physical mail, my mother's got a crystal ball I can reach her through… but I feel like she might renege if I let her think about it for too long, but then she might need time to be convinced after all- I don't know…"

"I'm sorry," Sofia said, leaning forward and putting a hand on Cedric's shoulder, "I can't make that decision for you. I don't know your mother as well as you do, so I can't even really give you much advice. Maybe just to trust your gut?" She shrugged, and… realized she needed to pre-empt some questions from her mom, and to do that she'd need to address the elephant in the room.

Sofia took a moment to steel herself, and was glad that Cedric didn't say anything in the silence that had followed her previous suggestion. Finally, she managed, "In the letter, I'm going to need to tell Mom what you are to me. It doesn't need to be a whole lot, but if we're just friends or if we're dating may make a difference, and honestly? I don't know where we stand _myself_ , since the Tea Incident." Cedric's eyes widened and his face fell, and he looked like he was about to say something, but Sofia continued, "I don't mind whatever, really! Hanging out with you is nice no matter what, I'm not asking you to keep this into a romantic dating mental box if that's not what you want. It might actually be easier to convince my mom if you and I _are_ just friends, honestly?"

It took a moment for Cedric to respond. "I don't… I don't know. You're… you're safe, to touch, to touch me, and my brain doesn't… do that to a lot of people. And I am very fond of you but-" Cedric's brows knitted and he looked off to the side, silent for a few more moments. "I'm not entirely sure what the difference between 'romantic' and 'just friends' fondness is?"

Technically this was new information to Sofia, but it wasn't actually at all _surprising_. If anything, it made several things make sense. She smiled and took Cedric's hands in her own and squeezed. "That's fine," she said. "Whatever we have is fine with me, and I don't care about labels…. But I do think my mom would." Sofia smiled softly and shrugged. "Here's a different question, then, maybe one that's easier to answer: would-" Sofia had to pause for a moment, as the question turned out to be harder to ask than she'd expected. She felt color rising to her cheeks as she tried again, "Would you want to kiss me again while you're visiting? I think that would be the hardest thing to spin as purely platonic, so that seems like a good threshold for… what we call ourselves to the public, I guess."

The way Cedric's eyes widened seemed to Sofia like he was as embarrassed at the question as she had been at asking it, but he didn't blush - then again, did he ever? Either way, he looked away and bit his lip before responding, "I - maybe? It… was nice, if very strange. But if that would make it more difficult to convince your mother, then it's not something I'd feel the need to do such that I'd jeopardizing my chances."

At that, Sofia chuckled. "I think Mom would be able to tell if I was bending the truth, and would appreciate the honesty more than pretending that you and I are Totally Just Friends We Swear. So, for between you and me and whoever else - I really don't mind whatever we want to call this. I don't want you to feel trapped in anything. I'll tell my mom we're dating, but that's just for convenience, really. Unless you decide you want the label. I'm happy you're still wanting me around, and… Given how I was- pushy, before, I'm trying not to cross your boundaries again." In more ways than he knew of, unfortunately. She'd… tell him about having had his journal, eventually, but Princesses Above he was not in a state to deal with that yet.

Back in the present, Cedric nodded. "That sounds… like a good plan. I'll… contact my mother tonight, so that she can start making the appropriate arrangements. She probably wouldn't revoke permission without a good reason, right?" Sofia shrugged, and Cedric continued, "Probably. She's… Cordelia comes by her overwhelming personality naturally, but typically Mum is better about standing back and letting me do things… and convincing Father to do things he may not initially want. I think… we might actually be able to make this work." He grinned hopefully at Sofia, and she grinned back.

 **A/N: it's nanowrimo. the title works for this chapter too but I like these sections being separated as they are... I'll figure out which chapter gets to keep it in december haha. until then I'm done wasting time on perfecting chapter titles. :B**


	26. Unexamined Life

Finally… finally, there was a moment to rest. The second week of the Pendragon joint workshop wasn't any easier to deal with than the first, and while the pair of teachers eventually managed to get along well enough to teach, Dean hadn't helped Cedric understand any of that with his ceaseless chatter. At least Cedric's actual skills easily managed to surpass the boy's unfortunate physical abilities, but it just threw the fact that one unusual episode was enough to ruin his standing for the rest of… well, that was kind of his general reputation now, so possibly forever. Not that one _single_ breakdown would cause that, but even infrequent ones seemed to do the job quite well enough. And that wasn't even touching the midterm exam, which had passed in a stressful blur, and Cedric was half certain that he'd failed the written portion, though he admitted that part of that might have been unfounded paranoia… but not entirely.

At any rate, that was _over_ , now, and he was sitting in a hackney cab that Sofia's mother had hired to pick the both of them up. It was… odd, traveling this way. Somewhat uncomfortable, given the bouncing of the carriage that wasn't present when pegasi were pulling a carriage through the air, though possibly better than the acute, if temporary, nausea Cedric got from traveling magically.

There weren't windows in the carriage, so Cedric wasn't sure where to focus his attention, though, so he looked down at his fidgeting hands for most of the ride. After not very long, Sofia's mother broke the silence, "So, Cedric - it's nice to meet you, you seem like a fine young man."

In what was perhaps not the wisest reaction, Cedric snorted and rolled his eyes. "I do believe you're the first person to have thought that," he said in response, though he was closer to facing the carriage wall than the woman sitting across from him.

"I'm sure _that's_ not true," and Cedric could see some movement from the corner of his eye but he was still resolutely not looking her way. She continued, "You can call me Miranda, though I won't object to Missus Balthazar. I'm just glad to see Sofia's getting along well at Hexing Hallways, and falling in love to boot. My baby's growing up and it's adorable!"

A chuckle wanted to bubble its way out of Cedric's throat, especially at the way that Sofia said, a bit too loudly, " _Mom!_ "

There wasn't much more to make conversation about, so the carriage was weighed down by an awkward silence - but at least 'awkward' was the worst Cedric could describe his current state, and anyhow it wasn't terribly long before they were piling out of the carriage. Cedric finally got his first taste of where Sofia had come from, and found himself a little overwhelmed. The sounds and smell of the town were louder and stronger than he'd been expecting and a bit of an unpleasant surprise, but… probably manageable. Visually, at least, it was very muted browns and greys, which was both a little depressing and soothing to his senses.

Inside, the sound of the streets was lessened - but not wholly absent, unfortunately. At least the smell was significantly better inside. It was also… smaller. Cedric knew that he'd been born to wealth, but the entire abode was very _efficient_ , Cedric supposed he'd put it. The ground floor of the building was devoted to cobbling, the storefront taking up a large portion of the level but near the back there was also a workshop, hidden from the average customer's eyes behind a locked door, and the stairs to the first floor's living quarters.

There were two bedrooms, a washroom, and a kitchen/dining area, and the hallways to connect these together. Of course, these rooms weren't bare, and the smaller bedroom had plenty of full bookshelves, and there were knicknacks and plenty of evidence that the house was quite lived in.

Just as something was beginning to feel off, beyond the fact that Cedric was out of his element here, Sofia spoke up and asked, "Uh, mom? There's only one bed in my bedroom…" Ah, that was it. "I thought you said you'd borrowed a cot for Cedric to sleep on?"

Miranda paused and glanced at the room herself, then snapped as she found the answer, Cedric supposed. "Ah, that's right, I did. That actually ended up falling through. Honestly, though, I know you're teenagers - I won't tell anyone's parents if you won't." She winked at the pair of them and continued towards her own room, ignoring Sofia's embarrassed admonition.

Cedric, however, had just looked down and subconsciously scratched the side of his chest, where his binder clasped. "That's, ah, going to be a bit of a problem…" Cedric said.

"Yeah, no kidding," Sofia said, then put her hand to her mouth with wide eyes. "Not- not anything against you, I just don't-"

"You're fine," Cedric said. "The same applies for me." ...That was probably not true in any sense, but Cedric didn't really want to hear whatever it was that Sofia had been about to say. "Also, I believe I tend to thrash about as I sleep, and with elbows like these I'm afraid you'd end up with stab wounds."

Sofia chuckled at that, and Cedric was glad that for once he was able to make a joke. _He_ thought his sense of humor was great, but he didn't end up exercising it very often, and it tended to be understated, especially compared to Sofia's and Greylock's personalities, so it was… nice, to make someone laugh without him being- well, he was _still_ the butt of the joke, but it was different, somehow, when it was _self_ deprecating humor.

At any rate, the two followed Miranda and cleared up the situation without too much trouble, at least. "Sorry, I didn't realize it would be an issue," she said. "Well, no problem - one of you can have my bed. I'll stick around here during the day, spending most of my time in the shop probably, and then sleep at my boyfriend's place at night, I know he won't mind. Sound good?"

Sofia was hiding her rather red face behind her hand, but Cedric nodded and said, "That sounds like a decent plan to me. I'm- I'm sorry to be an inconvenience like this, given you're letting me stay here and all… I don't mean-"

"Shush, you, it's no trouble at all," Miranda interrupted him. "I'm glad to get to meet Sofia's first love, it's exciting and I'm so proud of her," she said, grinning.

"Mom, _why_ ," Sofia said from behind her hand.

* So after it was decided that Sofia would sleep in her own bed and Cedric in her mother's, they had to deal with Cedric's suitcase - he hadn't brought more than he'd thought necessary, but it was still decently sized given it not only contained his clothes for the next few weeks, but had his extra phials of Elixir in one pocket and his toothbrush and toiletries and… all of that. It ended up finding a temporary home in one corner of Sofia's room, which felt unfortunate in that he was imposing on her space and he could quickly see his things becoming a tripping hazard - troublesome both in hurting himself or Sofia as well as possibly breaking anything of his - but there wasn't much to be done about it, really.

Then, once that was taken care of, the coach was relieved of its duty, and the house was calm. There was time to rest, no pressing need to get things done, to get things set up and ordered, to need to _do_ anything.

"So… anything you want to do?" Sofia asked, after a minute of awkward silence.

Cedric shrugged. "I'm… not sure. What do you tend to do in your spare time?"

Sofia shrugged back. "I guess it depends? Well, a lot of the time I was helping my mom work on making or mending shoes, but I don't know if I'll be roped back into that while I'm back for break or not. If I do, I've got plenty of books you can read-" Sofia gestured to the bookshelf at the side of the room - "or if you just want to read, that's cool. I'm not going to pester you if you want to do that. Uh, if you want to go someplace else, there's not a whole lot around here that I know very well. Dunwiddee isn't exactly a tourist location, you know?" Sofia tilted her head as she thought more. "You meeting Lucinda might be great, or might be awful. She's - a bit of a handful, I guess, but I think that's part of witch culture - anyway, I learned all the magic I knew before I got to Hexley from her and her family. Mostly just her, but her family was nice too."

It took Cedric a few extra moments to process all the new information. "I see," he said eventually. "I, ah, brought my coin purse - so if cost is an issue, I can cover that without issue. If what I've brought turns out not to be enough, I believe Mum could and would send me more through magic circles. It would take a few minutes to draw the necessary runes on this end, but that's about all the trouble it would be."

Sofia shook her head. "It's not a big deal, really. I mean we're not _royalty_ but we're a far cry from being the poorhouse. Mom isn't renting thus building, she owns it completely - it used to be both hers and dad's, and it's been _harder_ since then sure, but we've always managed, and I don't… I don't like feeling like I owe people, I guess."

...This just seemed illogical to Cedric. Or, well, not wanting to incur debt made sense - he didn't like the feeling being leveraged against him either. However, he thought that he and Sofia had at _least_ established enough rapport that she'd know he wouldn't hold something like that against her. (In the back of his mind, he heard Greylock's voice chiming in about holding _something_ against her, but he smothered that by making a short humming sound.)

To cover the oddity of making a noise for no apparent reason, Cedric spoke up, "I… believe I'm too tired from traveling and… everything to do much out and about today, but Wassalia _is_ coming up and I'd like to try to… I should probably send something to my parents if nothing else." Was it rude to mention buying someone a Wassalia gift to them? Or was it rude to insinuate that they hadn't thought about it? Cedric hadn't actually considered it before now, and he had little idea what Sofia wanted - but he didn't want to pester her like Cordelia had to him, and besides there was something… impersonal, he supposed, about exchanging gifts that were things one might have bought for oneself but instead put on a list for someone else to buy.

Sofia nodded. "That sounds like a good idea. Are you hungry, would you like anything to eat? I'll probably help mom make supper later, but we've got crackers and cheese and things to snack on before that, and drinks - I don't know how much tea we have, or… how old it is, but you're welcome to any of it."

Cedric nearly cringed at the last bit - _technically_ , dried tea leaves didn't go bad, per sé, but they did definitely go _stale_. ...But then again, stale tea was hardly a large problem, and if he really needed something fresher he could probably buy some while out shopping for gifts. "That sounds good, yes," he said, and followed Sofia to look through the pantry - which was pretty well stocked, Cedric was glad to see. Some of the tea did look old, but there was new chamomile which was… not something he liked, much, but it would admittedly help him sleep on unfamiliar bedding. The cheese and crackers were tasty, and Sofia recommended Cedric try some dried fruit bits or jelly along with the cheese on the crackers. It was… certainly odd, but very good. Sweet and savory both.

They retired to Sofia's room, then, and chose different books from her shelf to read. Amusingly, the longest individual series of books was about a girl named Millie going to a boarding school, much like Hexley Halls - but sans magic instruction. It wasn't a knight's school, either… Perhaps it was a parody of Royal Prep, then? It didn't seem to feature actual royalty, but did seem to be a preparatory school for young women planning to be married off, rather than those intending to go into higher learning or the arcane arts, like Hexley.

...There wasn't really much more to the book than interpersonal drama that Cedric couldn't relate to, and school woes that were either as foreign as the interpersonal aspects or familiar in a thoroughly boring way. Cedric stood up to replace the book on the shelf, and Sofia said, "Not so fond of Millie? I can't blame you - I _loved_ those books as a kid, but she's kind of awful, really. I'm surprised you made it as long as you did."

Cedric chuckled. "Terrible people I don't mind so long as something actually _happens_ ," he said. Scanning the titles on the books' spines, Cedric weighed the pros and cons of rereading a Shakespeare play. On one hand, he would be able to put it down without much issue; on the other hand, reading something new that Sofia also enjoyed would give him a topic he could speak to her about would be nice. Instead, he chose… a novel called Witch Week, which ended up being _another_ story set in a school, with a distinct lack of magic - but this time, that was quite intentional, for it had been entirely outlawed. Looking at the date of publication of this novel, it seemed more like a grim-dark far future setting than scathing political commentary, but the way that it reminded Cedric of the murmurings among the nobles he'd heard of through Professor Layton was… darkly interesting.

The afternoon faded into evening as the two read, and Mrs Balthazar called her daughter in to help with preparing supper, as Sofia had expected. Cedric followed her and offered to help, but he was woefully uneducated in cooking, and ended up retreating to the table to wait while out of the way of elbows and kitchen knives and hot stoves.

Dinner was a thick stew, or perhaps noodles with sauce… it was hard to place exactly that to call the dish. Creamy broccoli sauce/broth of some kind with two different kinds of noodles, some dried vegetables, and bits of meat that had been salted to preserve it for the winter. Cedric hadn't had salted meat in stew before, though it was quite good - if still perhaps a little tough, it was much easier having hydrated in the broth than it was normally.

Conversation over dinner wasn't a big production, which Cedric was thankful for. No bragging about one's accomplishments and throwing siblings under the bus - not that Sofia had anyone to do that to - no pointed questions about grades and future plans and how he'd deal with whatever Goodwyn had had to deal with this week or month or whenever at the castle. There _were_ questions about his goals, but Miranda seemed genuinely curious rather than sure Cedric had failed whatever expectation before he could even answer.

After supper they put on candles to keep reading for a while longer- it was odd, not to have the oil lamps Cedric was used to. He liked the aesthetic of candles, but he couldn't stand to read for very long in their flickering light, so excused himself to get ready for bed.

All in all, it had been… a strange day, certainly, but a nice one. Even as Cedric laid down in Sofia's mother's bed, not sure where to lay on the large mattress and slightly uncomfortable from the way the cotton stuffing was clumped in places, well… Minor discomfort was worth the price for a little peace of mind, he thought. His body seemed to agree, given how quickly he fell asleep.


	27. Nursery in the Forest

"Well, why _not_?" Cedric asked, pouting and huffing a little at Sofia as she smiled at him. Looking like she wanted to _laugh_ at him. "My robe is warm, and comfortable, and a perfectly acceptable wizard's vestment."

Sofia stepped forward to hug him around the shoulders, and she said, "I know, I know - and you can wear it around the house as much as you like. I just… don't think people around here would see it like that so much as - as a dressing gown, probably. You've said you don't like attention, I know you don't, and I can pretty much _guarantee_ you'd get some negative attention if you went out like that."

Looking away, Cedric huffed again, but said, "Fine. I… can see your point. I'll see if I can't find a more _publically acceptable_ coat to wear." He hadn't counted on not being able to wear the favored robe, though, so they had to find him something of Sofia's to wear - something that managed to be baggy and still, by its cut, emphasize his hips, unfortunately. And it was wool, and itchy… but at least he had plenty of long-sleeved shirts so wearing one underneath the coat wasn't an issue, and he could minimize how much the awful scratchy fabric touched his skin. The sleeves rubbing the fabric of the body of the coat was awful too, honestly, but something he could manage. And at least it was in a decent shade of plum.

They finally managed to make it outside the house, and Sofia held Cedric's hand and it was warm against the cold winter air, pulling his arm towards her and distracting him and it was nice.

On the other hand, who knew that a day spent shopping could be so _exhausting_? Honestly, it was barely noon before Cedric had had to ask Sofia if they could take a break to sit down on a bench. He shivered in the cold late December air, sitting alone on a bench and feeling like he looked pathetic as he pulled his arms out of his sleeves to hug himself within the body of the coat. Pathetic and silly, probably, but it was _warmer_ this way, even if the now empty sleeves dangled sadly at his sides.

At least it wasn't long before Sofia came back, with her hot chocolate and his cider in hand - and a few other folks in tow. She said something to the two girls and they stayed back as Sofia approached Cedric, offering him his cup, waiting patiently as he returned his arms to his sleeves to take it. "You didn't peek in my bags, did you?" Sofia said as she picked the paper sacks up from the ground next to Cedric. "Ruining the surprise might just leave you with coal in your stocking~"

Cedric snorted a laugh. "Yes, _that_ is what would garner a punishment of coal, and nothing else I have done this previous year is worth such. That is absolutely how justice works." Sofia rolled her eyes and chuckled back at him. Without segue, he continued, "Who're they, then?" nodding at the two girls who still stood a few feet away.

Sofia offered a hand to Cedric to help him stand up, and as he took it, she explained "That's Jade and Lucinda, they're- friends of mine. I was hoping to introduce you to Lucinda while you were here anyway, so this is honestly perfect timing!" She also mumbled something about being in public being nice, but Cedric didn't catch it, and before he could ask he'd been pulled towards these friends. "Lucinda, Jade, this is my- boyfriend, Cedric."

The girls waved and smiled at him, and Sofia continued the introductions. "Cedric, this is Jade," she said, and gestured to the shorter girl in a blue coat with short dark hair, then continued, "And this is Lucinda, and she gestured to the taller girl with long, dark hair. Her bright green and purple and orange outfit would make her easy to pick out in a crowd, at least, and contrasted sharply against Jade's muted palette.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Cedric intoned, falling into his usual script. This was apparently the incorrect thing to do, as the girls started giggling.

"So you've gone and got yourself a rich boy-toy to play with at fancy school, huh?" Lucinda said, eyeing Cedric up and down. "Does he at least treat you right, buy you things with that extra cash? Or does he just use spells stolen from witches and call it a day?"

Sofia's palm went to her face. "Luc-" she started, but was cut off.

"I kid, I kid!" she said, and elbowed Cedric in the side. "I know that's not your fault. I'm serious about Sof, though - you hurt her and my whole family's gonna dance on your grave." At this she grinned and gave him finger-guns.

Cedric… honestly had no idea how to react to the mixed signals he was getting here. "Um, I - I can assure you I have no intention of harming Sofia," he said after a few moments.

A few more moments passed in awkward silence between the four, until Sofia broke it by saying "Hey, so I thought you guys might like talking about magic - since you're both pretty into the study of it, but you study different styles. Like, don't witches have familiars too, Lucinda? That might be interesting to talk about."

Oh, was that so? That _was_ interesting, Cedric thought. Lucinda seemed to be more interested in Sofia's familiar than his, but heard Sofia say, "Look, I'd like to catch up with Jade too, and you and Cedric have more in common than he and Jade do, I'm trying to keep anyone from getting bored." Something about that kind of stung to Cedric, but he wasn't sure _what_.

Still, it was interesting to talk about magic theory with Lucinda as they started walking to another store - it turned out that Lucinda and Jade had been out on the town (what little shopping district there _was_ around Dunwiddie) doing their Wassailia shopping as well, so that was convenient. Once they got to another shop, the four parted ways to look at the wares on their own, and hopefully have some amount of covertness while buying what could end up being gifts for other people already present. ...Presents for those present, heh. Greylock might appreciate that one.

Cedric stopped to write that down in his journal - carried with him almost everywhere, anymore, since Greylock had managed to find it stuck in the library - and looked up to notice from across the store Lucinda's arm around Jade's waist, Jade planting a kiss on Lucinda's nose.

He was only stunned in surprise for a moment, thankfully, and managed to move behind a display shelf before too long passed, ideally before he was noticed. ...Probably? He wasn't called out after a few seconds, so he sighed. It wasn't like being gay was a huge deal to him, given Greylock - ...given everything about him and Greylock, honestly, but that was beside the point; but given a lot of things, that the girls only could get that moment while 'in public' if that was in the back of a store that should probably have better lighting at this time of year… Cedric didn't understand a lot of social cues, clearly, but privacy was something he could get behind.

He looked around the store some more and bought a fairly decent amount of candy. A perhaps embarrassing amount of it was for himself, but he bought some yogurt drops for his mother, probably-unintentionally-phallic looking suckers that Greylock was sure to get a kick out of, hard maple candies for Sofia, and for some reason the shop sold teas as well so he bought a nice selection for himself and some for Professor Layton too. He… hadn't given the Professor a Wassailia present before, and dried and preserved teas were never yielded as good a flavor as fresh ingredients, but on the other hand spices that weren't easily grown even in Hexley's greenhouses could be found in these blends… And, well, they could be wait to be given until the beak was over and Cedric had returned to Hexley. It might be odd for a student to give a professor a gift, but sending it through the _post_ seemed like it crossed a line somewhere along the way.

Cedric slid his purchases in the the paper bag from the previous shop, making sure to keep the maple candies at the bottom - that wasn't his only present for Sofia, but he was quite as worried as she was about ruining the holiday surprise.

The four reconvened outside the storefront and started off again, with Cedric trailing behind. They weren't _leaving_ him behind, but given he wasn't currently attached to Sofia's hand, well, he always tended to hang back in groups.

Instead, Sofia walked with her arm linked with Lucinda's. They chattered and laughed merrily, and it was… somewhere between nice seeing Sofia happy, and painful seeing how easily she got on with other people, how easily Sofia could drop Cedric like a hot potato and be none the worse for the wear.

Jade spoke up, then, startling Cedric. "So, how is Sofia doing, then? Her leaving was pretty sudden, and she hasn't managed to tell us a whole lot - I guess she's been too busy to care much about those of us she left behind."

Despite the fact that Cedric had been going down the exact same line of thought himself not a moment before, he responded, "Now, that doesn't sound like her at _all_. ...Honestly, that she's managed to have any spare time at all is astounding, she's having to make up for lost time, you know. I don't know of anyone else that entered Hexley any later than sixth year, and here she is managing to maintain her studies and learn the backlog in eleventh, and only of thirteen total. That's no mean feat." Granted, she had significant help on the magic side of things from the Amulet she wore… On the other hand, base power only helped so much.

"Oh," Jade said, looking reprimanded, "I… guess you've got a point. I don't know, I guess I'm just a bit envious. Sofia hangs out with Lucinda and her family and gets to get out of this awful little town, but they won't teach me anything after the thing with Sofia. I mean, I _get_ it, no one wants soldiers showing up at their doorstep. But _magic_ , honestly. You rich folks have got it easy, honestly."

It was Cedric's turn to look… something, anyway. He blinked in surprise, but before he could answer, Jade added, "Sorry, I don't mean to dump my issues on you. It's just- nice to tell someone who won't be around here long, you know? Get it off my chest but to someone who barely knows me or would care to remember."

She shrugged, and Cedric shrugged back. Cedric wished he could relate, but… the things he'd like to do that with were either too large and involved for his lungs to handle speaking for that long, or too dangerous to share. He'd _like_ to think the similar ways in which society treated gay folks and trans ones would provide understanding, but Sascha had quite thoroughly proved him wrong there, so even knowing that the two were dating didn't allow Cedric to feel safe enough to share - not to mention they had no reason to know that he knew. It was a mess, really, and it probably just ought to be left well enough alone.

...If only the mess would allow itself to be left alone.

After the next shop, Sofia asked Lucinda, "Hey, Luci, I've always had trouble finding things to get for you… and this year doesn't seem to be any better." She chuckled lightly and continued, "I don't want to ruin the surprise of gifting and all, but do you have any ideas you could share? A hint, general direction, anything?"

Lucinda grinned at Sofia and said, "For this Wassailia, the only thing I want from you is to steal a kiss."

Sofia stopped walking to look at Cedric, Cedric had just stopped from surprise and confusion, Jade stopped and put a hand over her face, and Lucinda had stopped as she waggled her eyebrows at Sofia.

"Just one, I swear," Lucinda said, looking at Sofia with wide, probably intended to be adorable eyes. Cedric saw them as conniving, though he wasn't sure if it was just jealousy that was telling him that.

Sofia had looked between Lucinda and Cedric several times before she managed to say, "Uh… is everyone else okay with that?"

Jade still had one hand covering her face, but waved the other in Sofia's direction. "It's fine, it's fine. You're fine, go ahead."

Sofia looked at Cedric, and given he was still quite confused as to what the situation even was right now, shrugged dramatically, including his arms in the motion even, and said, "S-sure I guess? I'm- I'm not going to… stop you."

Sofia gave Cedric a smile which made his heart happy, and she approached him and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I'm glad you're okay with this," she said, and returned to Lucinda up ahead, and put her chin out as she expected Lucinda to lean in and kiss her.

Lucinda, instead, grabbed Sofia by the waist and dipped her backwards, far enough that Lucinda's pointed hat slipped off her head - though it had never been the most secure by the looks of it.

In a moment, the two were standing upright again, both a little breathless. "And I'm all set for this year! Though I can't guarantee I won't need another next Wassailia~" she said with a wink. She then bent down to retrieve her hat, and noticed an elder man from across the way openly staring with a look of disgust on his face, destination evidently forgotten.

"Heya mister!" Lucinda shouted, "she's my sister."

Cedric was wondering what in the _world_ kind of explanation that was for such a clearly non-sibling kiss when he heard Jade groan loudly from beside him. "Oh, come _on_ that was supposed to be _our_ thing. At least it's almost believable with me…"

That was the last straw. Cedric was too confused that he could barely muster the effort to care about propriety. "Are you and Lucinda _together_ , then, or not? I thought…" Cedric ended lamely with a shrug. Congratulations on maintaining a wimpy persona, nincompoop.

Jade didn't mention it, though that was partially because she didn't know Cedric tried to cultivate that prickly personality. "We are, she just flirts with anything in a skirt. I wish she wouldn't, but it's fine. Usually flirt is all she does, but I mean - we're both Sofia's friend, they used to date but that was way back when before any of us even hit puberty so it didn't mean much, but I mean I get it Sofia's… always been something else. And I _do_ trust Sofia and Lucinda both, I just wish they _wouldn't_."

...Yes, that cleared a lot of things up. Cedric wished he'd known that Sofia and Lucinda had had _history_ before being asked, as he felt a bit more raw at that… on the other hand, Sofia had - for whatever reason - ended the relationship with Lucinda, and if either party was pining it was Lucinda. Sofia had chosen to be with Cedric.

...and could easily choose to leave him, and what was the possibility that Sofia knew how he was and was interested in him because she thought Cedric was really a girl after all, or didn't know but could still subconsciously Tell and was into him because he seemed feminine, and honestly even if these things weren't true it still kind of hurt that she'd want to kiss an ex in front of him, and-

 _Stop_. The group had started walking again at some point, and he intentionally hung even a bit further back from Jade as he made a low humming noise, drowning out the thoughts. When that didn't quite work, he mumbled nonsense syllables to himself until he was able to focus on _reality_ rather than these downward spirals of negativity.

A while after all… _that_ happened, Lucinda said that she wanted to bring them - all _four_ of them - back home to her family's holiday celebration. "We celebrate a whole eleven more days of Wassailia than you weird folks do," Lucinda said, "and it would be great to have you guys come along and do the thing. No gift giving until the last day, so no pressure - just fun and good eats."

This trip had been about experiencing new things so far, so while Cedric was tired, he didn't protest as he was pulled along, outside the artificial light of the town's street lamps. The moon, while not full, was at least gibbous, so after a minute or so of adjusting the forest was easy enough to traverse by its light. Thankfully they stayed to the worn footpath, though.

It wasn't long before they arrived, though it took Cedric a moment to realize it - he hadn't noticed anything different at all, in fact, until Lucinda disappeared up the side of a tree trunk. Jade and Sofia followed, climbing the ladder Cedric could now see, only barely lit by a lantern to one side. ...In fact, that wasn't an average lantern, but a stable witchlight, encased in glass. How it had been managed without a caster to keep it active he wasn't sure.

Once he stepped off the top of the ladder, he had to take another moment to take in the sight of everything. Many more witchlights like the one at the base of this tree's trunk hung dotted about other trees, though he was certain that they hadn't been visible from below. People walked across branches without any care for balance, and he saw Lucinda take off where he was almost certain there wasn't a branch. He looked down, and saw there were shimmering spider webs between the branches of this tree, and between the other trees. Cedric gingerly tested his weight, and a magic barrier of some kind held him up, rippling just a bit at the contact but clearly able to bear quite as much or more weight.

The area he was in as he looked around was a little crowded with pine needles and even leaves - odd for this time of year - but once he stepped away from the ladder down, the walls of leaves opened up and he had to work not to be struck by the… the natural beauty of magic, he supposed. All of what he'd grown up with for his whole life was structured, was rigid, tried to stone walls and old spells, applied in very specific ways and only in those specific ways. Of course, there were geniuses who invented new spells or ways of doing things, but actually _trying_ to be different didn't tend to earn one much praise.

Something about the humming feeling of the magic here, though, felt very much like it was working _with_ nature, rather than against it. It was… a little spellbinding. Cedric wanted to note that pun down in his journal to share with Greylock for later, but he noticed as he had that thought that Sofia and the others had been going on ahead, and that Sofia was calling his name.

Cedric waved and followed them, and his dawdling earned a chuckle from Sofia as he finally caught up. "It's really something, isn't it?" she said, grabbing a hold of his hand. "It's nice to see you as awed by it all as I was, the first time Luci brought me here. I kind of thought I might just be a country bumpkin, but I've always thought it was super pretty."

"It's… more than pretty," Cedric said. "I mean, it _is_ stunning to look at, but-" Cedric stopped himself as he noticed that they'd apparently arrived. Probably? A wooden door stood in front of them, which seemed incongruous, but as he looked at the wood he realized it seemed to be naturally grown in that shape. Cedric had no idea how the hinges could function while the door was connected enough to anything to be still growing, even with magic. Of course, the spiderweb barrier baffled him too, so this shouldn't be any more of a surprise.

Inside the… _was_ it a building? Was it even "inside"? Well, there was a roof of leaves and thick webbing, so if a roof and walls were what defined 'inside', then inside they were. So, once inside the room, Cedric realized it was a very large dining room. Like the door, a wooden table that was clearly still living and growing stretched across the room, and several people who were already seated looked up as Lucinda and the others entered.

"Hey!" Lucinda called, and walked to one of the women near the other end of the table. "Mom," she said, then nodded to the old woman at the head of the table, "And Madam Great Grandma Hazel," she said, "I brought a few friends as well as Jade to have dinner with us- Sofia, you know her, and a new friend, he's dating Sofia so I trust him and all - that's cool, right?"

This hadn't been approved beforehand? Cedric watched as the woman Lucinda had called Mom shook her head and… Hopefully laughed. Was that laughing? It was hard to tell from this distance. The old woman scrunched her face up, but after a tense moment, nodded. Lucinda jumped for joy and hugged both women and ran back over to the group, who'd been standing somewhat awkwardly in the doorway, and pulled them over to sit at the table. There werent individual chairs except for the one at the head of the table, but long benches, so while some scooting was necessary, there was no issue finding places for the group to sit.

Cedric was… uncomfortable at how close he was sitting to a stranger, nearly bumping elbows with him at several points, but he was able to push past it while looking at the serving dishes of food before them. Several different things were available, many sweet and savory flavors to be chosen from - but found that most of them had a theme of geese, whether it was the actual carved goose he could see, and goose eggs, to things that had merely had geese incorporated in the decorations. ...In fact, as he looked up and down the table, he counted specifically six carved geese. There was a nursery rhyme, wasn't there, that involved that? Cedric hadn't realized that it had had any basis in reality, given he hadn't ever seen any evidence of twelve days of Wassailia in his own life. And yet, here it was, in its full glory. Familiars, witchlight as even wizards called 'lux' from time to time, and even holidays… Cedric wondered if there had been any kind of investigation of the ways that the witches' culture intersected with Enchancian culture - and the world at large, he supposed, given he was fairly sure that witches were fairly widespread, and kept largely to themselves - sharing their culture (or, as Lucinda said, having it stolen), but picking up little from the places they lived. Cedric was far from certain of that, though, given he'd learned very little about witches in school, and most of that had been from reading in his spare time.

At various points during the meal, several witches and warlocks got up from the table, and returned with refilled dishes of whatever sides had gotten empty. The only things that weren't replenished were the geese, which was both economically wise and probably symbolic, anyhow.

...Actually, it was only men who were doing the refilling, Cedric realized after a while. He turned to Sofia and asked about it, but she just shrugged and said, "That's just how they do things?" Cedric would really have to ask Professor Layton if he had any texts on witches, Cedric decided. His own interest in cultures and archeology had more to do with artifacts of power, but understanding the history and culture surrounding those artifacts had been as much a part of that as what powers those artifacts were imbued with… but being thrust into the heart of a holiday celebration of a new culture was still a bit much for Cedric, even if the food was good. Reading about it beforehand would have been nice, and he thought he might like to return at some point, but most certainly after he'd read a decent amount first.

After the meal, and several of the warlocks were cleaning up the dishes, Lucinda told them to go ahead and to keep leftovers, there were wooden bowls and woven baskets to bring it home in. "I don't know if I've brought you before, Sofia," Lucinda told Sofia as the three were filling their baskets, "but a lot of us are going to the spirit tree after this, it's… memorial. Could you bring some food for that too?"

Lucinda didn't bother to explain what this was about to Cedric, so he had to ask Sofia what she'd meant. "Oh, uh… It's really something, I don't want to spoil the surprise - for right now, take a bowl of something that you know, or at least, think that someone you knew who's passed on would like."

"I…" Cedric crunched his mouth in thought. "I don't know that I have such a person." He hadn't been close to his grandparents, so his dead grandfathers meant nothing to him. Both grandmothers were still living, but Goodwyn hadn't spoken with his mother over something petty going on five years now, and Winnifred's mother had never bothered to care about her daughter's family. There were uncles and aunts in there somewhere, but Cedric had never known them very well, enough that he wasn't even certain how many he had, if he had any cousins, or if any of them were dead.

"If you can't think of a person, maybe a pet or something? Though maybe don't tell them, I don't think that's really… Actually maybe don't do that, forget I mentioned it." Sofia shrugged. "It's definitely just symbolic for us, so you don't have to put your heart into it if you don't want, but since we've been invited to participate, I think it would be rude not to."

Cedric nodded. It was fine that pets weren't allowed, he didn't think he had any to mourn - Wormwood was the closest he had ever had to a pet, and honestly given his trouble remembering to feed himself (when he wasn't intentionally avoiding it anyway) and do… much of anything, well, he didn't trust himself to take care of a pet that needed sustenance.

It didn't feel right to him, however, to participate in something intended to be memorial without actually dedicating it to someone's memory. Who did he care ab-...hm.

No one would care but him, but Cedric took a bowl and arranged a line of whipped cream down the center; then on either side, cranberry sauce - it was red, not pink, but they'd do; and on the edges, blueberry preserves - again, too dark, but he was satisfied with the makeshift flag himself.

Cedric followed Lucinda and Sofia and Jade out of the room at last, each carrying a basket in one hand and their offering bowl in the other. They were led to the other side of the village that they'd entered from - or at least, a different side, perhaps not directly across. It was hard to tell, with all the twists and turns necessary to get around, here. Eventually, they were led to a set of stairs, which made Cedric wonder why the ladder was even necessary… and, at the same time, appreciated their existence, given that climbing a ladder with a bowl in hand would be difficult.

A few metres past the edge of the stairs, the trees opened up into a clearing - with one large tree in the middle. Unlike the mostly pine or otherwise coniferous forest around them, this tree seemed to be deciduous, with a decidedly gnarled trunk and many twisting branches. The fact that it lacked leaves would normally fit this assessment given the time of year, but it wasn't quite bare - as Cedric and the others approached, he could see that it wasn't merely pumpkins that grew from the branches, but jack-o-lanterns. There weren't many, but each had a face apparently carved into the side, and each was glowing from within - and yet, like the city in the trees Cedric supposed, these gourds were clearly alive and growing from the tree itself.

The group gathered, those who Ceric had come with and those who lived here, in front of the tree. The old woman who'd been seated at the head of the table broke away from the crowd and addressed the group, and the witches and warlocks greeted her collectively as "Grand Madam Witch Hazel." The way they put emphasis on the words sounded like 'grand madam witch' was a complete title, and that her name was Hazel, but Cedric's mind found it hard to separate the words 'witch hazel' given he knew that as the name of an herb. ...He briefly wondered whether that was an intentional pun or if the herb's name had unfortunate implications.

"For those that have fallen," Hazel have said, "We remember you in our time of celebration. We invite you to share our joy, and hope you know peace in the uncharted lands. Those whose spirits still reside on this mortal plane and those already in the hereafter - you are not forgotten." After this, there was a brief amount of call and response that Cedric could barely understand and certainly not remember enough to follow along with, but it was over shortly and the group assorted itself into three separate lines. Cedric followed Sofia into a line and waited his turn, watching what those ahead of them did - apparently, just place the bowl of food on the ground at the base of the tree. At least he wouldn't have to do anything fancy.

He barely had time to wonder whether the pumpkin lanterns in the tree were the 'spirits still on this mortal plane' or whatever Hazel had spoken of, but then Sofia was placing her bowl at the tree's roots ahead of him. "I hope you're okay, wherever you are, Dad," he heard her say, and moved out of the way for Cedric to put his own bowl down.

Cedric hadn't realized he'd needed to say words… but as he kneeled down, Cedric thought of the few pamphlets he'd found in the restricted / adult section of the school's library, the back corners behind ropes that had books written by the worst magical criminals in history, the books that were rare and too precious to lose to poor handling of younger students, and a few things about those in 'sodomite' relationships and those who 'pretended to be what they were not'. How some of these had ended their own lives to get out of… all of _this_ , and how some had had no choice in the matter. How many were recorded in these few books, and how many must have gone completely unnoticed.

Cedric gritted his teeth as he placed down his bowl, a poor replica of the crest he'd found in those pamphlets of the 'confused.' He said, mumbled really, "My brothers and sisters… I remember the dead, and I'll - I'll try harder to fight like _hell_ for the living." He'd heard that phrase somewhere else, too, but… it mostly stuck with him for this.

As he left the tree's base, Cedric tried to blink away the tears that had started to form. Sofia approached him, saying, "Brothers and sisters? I thought-"

"It was metaphorical," Cedric said, throat scratchy. Merlin's mushrooms, he really didn't need this ti happen here.

"Oh," Sofia said, and put a hand on his arm. "Who was that about, then?"

Cedric closed his eyes. "I definitely do not want to talk about it."

Once everyone's bowls had been placed, there were a few more words, and then Lucinda said to Sofia and Cedric, "If you guys wanna sleep here tonight, you're welcome too - I just asked my mom, she said it's fine, though boys and girls in different rooms." ...That seemed a bit hypocritical and reaffirming at the same time to Cedric. Passing was nice. "You don't have to if you don't want - I can fly you guys home pretty quickly, though I don't know if Sofia is allowed to fly a broom on her own anymore?"

Sofia shook her head no. "I don't know for certain, and I'd… really rather not risk it."

Lucinda nodded. "So would you guys like to try squishing onto one broom, then, or should we just go the old fashioned way? I mean, I'm bringing my broom regardless so I can fly back, at least, but yeah."

That three people on one broom idea sounded _awful_ to Cedric, and apparently this was evident enough on his face that Sofia didn't actually have to ask, she just glanced his way and said, "I think walking is a better idea."

With a shrug, Lucinda said, "Whatever you say - though the broom would be faster."

"I'd rather not fall to my death, thanks," Cedric said, "I've been thinking about that quite enough lately."

Both girls gave Cedric a concerned look, though Lucinda's seemed at least half amused - gallows humor, if a bad variety of it. Sofia knew better, and Cedric silently cursed himself. "Well, are we going or not?" he said, trying to break the tension. "As you said, it's going to take a while, so we'd better ought to get a move on."

The walk home was… mostly awkward silence, really. This is why Cedric should learn better than to go any place - he could never keep his mouth shut, and made things like this happen.

On the other hand, the forest lit by the light of the moon this late in the night was really a sight to behold. Very different from the bright and lively atmosphere of the witch's colony, it was mostly silent - aside from their own clumsy movement, of course - and soft, and it looked like a jar of molten silver had poured itself over everything.

Eventually, they got back into town, which was still lit by the street lamps but was eerily empty at this hour. A few lights inside still shown, but very few; the footprints and odd hoofprint in the streets were clear evidence that the town wasn't abandoned, but it still _felt_ as if it was as they walked through it.

Lucinda wanted to leave Sofia and Cedric when they got to the door of the shop, but Sofia tugged Lucinda's wrist and pulled her along inside, which Cedric quickly learned was to be as proof for Miranda that she had been safe and in good hands, etcetera. All three of them got reprimanded - but that was it. Lucinda wasn't surprising, Cedric supposed, she was a third party - literally, in this case, but that was beside the point.

Cedric almost expected something to happen to him, given he is older and the man and should have been more responsible, but no, he only got lecture too.

He was sent to another room as Miranda continued to scold Sofia, and Cedric braced himself for - he wasn't sure. Tears, probably, once Sofia exited, and he tried to prepare some words to calm her down after the inevitable. He'd never had to deal with bruises, yet, but Cedric didn't know if-

Sofia entered her room with half a smile on her face. She wasn't grinning, really, but she looked… okay? Her arms were crossed and when she sat down on the bed next to Cedric, she rolled her eyes and said, "Ugh, _parents_ , you know?"

Cedric looked her up and down. "Are you all right?" he asked, still not quite believing his eyes, given how he seemed to misread the situation fairly often.

Sofia gave him a look of… some kind. "Yeah? Why wouldn't I-" and stopped herself suddenly. "Uh, yeah, I'm good. Just, you know, Mom worries about me and I should try to send word at least or _something_ , just the usual stuff. I haven't lived away from her before Hexley, so she's a little more protective since she hasn't seen me for a while I guess. That's all."

It took a bit for Cedric's heart to stop feeling like it was going to pound itself out of his chest, but he nodded. "I… think I'm going to sleep then, if you don't mind."

"It's like one in the morning, I think I'd be questioning if you _didn't_ want to go to bed," Sofia said with a laugh.

...One was hardly the latest Cedric had gone to bed, but he nodded anyway. "Goodnight, then," he said, then, "You're sure you're good?"

A soft smile lit upon Sofia's face and she said, "I promise. Now goodnight, get some sleep."


End file.
